If there is something everyone loves about Italy, it’s food! Almost everyone tried at least once in his life an Italian dish, the most famous are probably pasta and pizza, but there is so much more to discover.
For one of my university projects I decided to travel all the way through Italy, from the North to the South, to discover and document the culinary traditions of each of its 20 regions.
Too often we get lost exploring foreign countries without really knowing the place where we are from, this is why I decided to visit at least one city from each region, travelling alone in the North, with my mother in the Centre of Italy and with my boyfriend in the South.
This really helped me exploring myself as well, especially when travelling alone, which has been one of the strongest experiences I have ever done and which I will write about in a separate post in the future.
Despite the length of the trip I will try my best to be synthetic about my journey, which I divided in three smaller road trips of about one week each, to make it easier to plan and to book holidays from work.
I am sorry about how schematic this is going to be, but describing each single plate would take me ages and you wouldn’t probably even want to read all that; so this simply wants to be a guide for you about the most traditional recipes you can try when visiting Italy.
If you are interested in some more details or would like to take a look at the book I wrote about these recipes, please don’t hesitate to contact me through my email or social media accounts. You can also find some more pictures from this project on my official website and a complete map of the restaurants I visited here.
CENTRE
Day 1:
Toscana – Pienza – La Buca delle Fate – Pici pasta with Cacio (cheese) and Pepper and Wild Boar Tagliatelle pasta
Umbria – Norcia – Il Tartufo – Penne alla Norcina Tartufate (short pasta with cream, sausages and truffle) and Mixed Grill Plate.
Day 2:
Lazio – Amatrice – La Fattoria – Local Mixed Starter, Amatriciana pasta (tomato sauce, pork cheek and pecorino) and Gricia pasta (same but without tomato sauce)
Marche – Ascoli Piceno – La Nicchia – Olive Ascolane (deep fried olives filled with meat)
Abruzzo – Teramo – La Cantina di Porta Romana – Fried Cheese and Spaghetti alla Chitarra con Pallottine (square spaghetti with meatballs)
Day 3:
Campania – Napoli – La Figlia del Presidente – Caprese (Buffalo Mozzarella and Tomatoes) and Fried Pizza
NORTH
Day 1:
Emilia Romagna – Bologna – Antichi Sapori – Tortellini in Broth
Veneto – Venezia – Trattoria da Gigio – Schie (local shrimps) with Polenta and Black Ink Spaghetti
Day 2:
Friuli Venezia Giulia – Trieste – Vecio Buffet Marascutti – Potato Gnocchi with Gulasch
Trentino Alto Adige – Bolzano – WEIßES RÖSSL– Canaderlo in Broth and Deer with Polenta
Day 3:
Valle d’Aosta – Aosta – Trattoria Praetoria – Risotto al Bleu d’Aoste (local cheese) and apples
Day 4:
Piemonte – Torino – Porto di Savona – Local Mixed Starter and Agnolotti pasta with meat sauce
Liguria – Genova – Le Piastre di Emma – Trofie pasta with Pesto
Day 5:
Lombardia – Milano – Risoelatte – Ossobuco (specific cut of the milk veal) and Cotoletta alla Milanese
SOUTH
Day 1:
Molise – Campobasso – La Grotta da Concetta – Pizza e Minestra (cruncy polenta with vegetables) and Pallotte Molisane (Cheeseballs)
Puglia – Spinazzola – Il Grottino – Purea di Fave e Cicoria (Fava Beans and Chicory Puree), Orecchiette pasta with Cime di Rapa (Turnip Tops) and Local Sausige with Mushrooms
Day 2:
Basilicata – Lagonegro – La Stradella – Local Mixed Starter, Strascinate pasta with local sausige and bean sauce and Lucanelli pasta made from legumes’ flours
Calabria – Amantea – Locanda di Mare – Fileja Pasta with local Sausage and Porcini Mushrooms, Swordfish Rolls and Mixed Fried Seafood
Day 3:
Sicilia – Bronte – Il Fiorentino – Local Mixed Starter, Casarecci pasta with pistachio, Casarecci pasta with pork ragù and Casarecci pasta alla Norma (aubergines and salted ricotta)
Day 4:
Sardegna – Cagliari – Su Cumbidu – Culurgiones pasta with tomato and basil, Malloreddus pasta with tomato and sausige and Maialetto (traditional Sardinian Pork)
EN 
IT