Italy

The 20 Regions of Italy

Italy- A Generalisation?

When people talk about “Italian food” they are inevitably focusing on a single region. Considering Italy has only been a unified country since 1861, it is unsurprising that many Italians identify firstly with their region and secondly as being Italian. When travelling to different regions in Italy, the bias in cooking towards certain ingredients or cooking methods is evident. Click on the name of the region below to read its description and discover how different they are. Each region has a description of the what makes that region unique, which places to visit, the type of local ingredients, the traditions and flavours of the dishes, and a sample menu of that region’s dishes.

The Italian Regions

Valle d’Aosta(Aosta Valley) → Courmayeur photographed by Mauro Fuentes Alvarez Aosta, Courmayeur, Gran Paradiso	Piemonte(Piedmont) → Nieve, Piemonte photographed by Rachel Black Torino (Turin), Langhe	Liguria → Portofino photographed by Konrad Jagodzinski Genova (Genoa), Cinqueterre, San Remo, Portofino	Lombardia(Lombardy) → Isola Bella, Lombardia by Andrea Costa Milano, Lago di Como (Lake Como), Lago Maggiore (Lake Maggiore), Cremona, Mantova

Friuli-Venezia Giulia → Grado by Andrea Rossi Trieste, Udine, Cividale del Friuli	Trentino-Alto Adige → Vigo di Fassa by Andrea Costa Bolzano, Merano, Bressanone, Grande Strada delle Dolomiti	Veneto → Venezia, Veneto by Rodrigo Soldon Venezia (Venice), Padova (Padua), Verona, Valpolicella	Emilia-Romagna → Bologna, Emilia-Romagna by LinnBJ Bologna, Ravenna, Ferrara, Parma, Modena, San Marino

Toscana (Tuscany) → Purple skyline in Toscana by Any Colour You Like Firenze (Florence), Siena, Pisa, Montepulciano, Montalcino, Chianti, Arezzo, Lucca, Cortona	Umbria → Basilica, Assisi, Umbria by Stefano Pertusani Assisi, Gubbio, Orvieto, Perugia, Norcia, Mount Sibillini National Park	Le Marche(The Marches) → Riviera del Conero, Le Marche by Otrocalpe Ascoli Piceno, Urbino, Numana, Riviera del Conero, Fermo	Lazio → Piazza San Pietro and Roma by Giampaolo Macorig Roma (Rome), Vatican City

Abruzzo-Molise → Sant’Eufemia by Christopher Schoenbohm Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo (Abruzzo National Park), Parco Nazionale della Majella (Maiella National Park), Sulmona	Campania → View from Palazzo Sasso, Campania by MDIANEM Napoli (Naples), Capri, Ischia, Amalfi coast: Positano, Amalfi, Ravello, Monte Vesuvio (Mount Vesuvius), Pompeii, Ercolano (Herculaneum)	Puglia (Apulia) → Trullo in Puglia by Henri Louis Hirschfeld Terra dei Trulli: Albarello, Promontorio del Gargano (Gargano Promontory), Tremiti Islands, Lecce	Basilicata → Christ Statue, Maratea by Basilicata Turistica Matera

Calabria → Stilo, Calabria by Giovanni Battista Salvietti Tropea, Capo Vaticano, Costa degli Dei, Gerace, Reggio Calabria, Parco Nazionale della Sila (Sila National Park)	Sicilia (Sicily) → Chiesa di San Cataldo, Palermo by Federico Soffici Palermo, Ustica, Agrigento, Isole Eolie (Aeolian Islands), Erice, Siracusa, Taormina	Sardegna(Sardinia) → Porto Cervo, Costa Smeralda by Diane Byrne Costa Smeralda, Arcipelago della Maddalena (Maddalena Archipelago), Barumini, Castelsardo

Food

Food in every region of Italy is excellent, but this list will give you an idea of what foods each regional cuisine emphasizes.

Polenta with cheese by Ferruccio Zanone	Valle d’Aosta: soups, cheese, polenta, meat and game, cabbage, potatoes, lardo, chestnuts, chocolate, apples and rye bread
Tagliolini al tartufo bianco (tagliolini with white truffle)	Piemonte (Piedmont): big French influence; grissini (breadsticks), cheese, white truffles, hazelnuts, red wine, agnolotti (stuffed pasta), risotto, chocolate, chestnuts, beef, cardoons, game, red wine and sweet peppers.
Trofie col pesto (trofie with pesto sauce)	Liguria: focaccia bread, olive oil, vegetables (artichokes, zucchini, borage, etc), marjoram, pesto sauce, seafood, savoury pies and pastas
Carnaroli risotto by Javier Lastras	Lombardia (Lombardy): risotto, polenta, cheese, bresaola, fresh stuffed pasta, gnocchi, costoletta alla milanese (breaded and fried veal chop), ossobuco (braised veal shank), lake fish, donkey, horse, soups and panettone
Polenta on a fogolar (traditional Friulian fireplace) by Elido Turco	Friuli-Venezia Giulia: big Central Eastern European influence; polenta, cheeses, smoked ricotta, soups, dumplings made of pumpkin, stale bread soups, or potatoes, prosciutto di San Daniele, grappa, fermented turnips, horseradish, greens, herbs, fresh and saltwater fish, seafood, gulasch (beef stew), roasted or grilled pork, beef, or lamb, fruit, nuts and spices
Pastries from Alto Adige by Rubber Slippers in Italy	Trentino Alto Adige: Germanic influence; soups, stews, bread dumplings, polenta, mushrooms, speck, rye bread, caraway seed, cured beef, game, game birds, smoked meats, sauerkraut, potatoes, turnips, wild greens, apples, cakes, sweet breads and fruit fritters.
Carnival Bugie by Elora Daphne	Veneto: Oriental influence; seafood, fish, rice, beans, radicchio, cheese, game birds, horse, donkey, white polenta, salt cod, bigoli (thick spaghetti), sweet and sour fish, pumpkin, asparagus and doughnuts.
Lasagne alla bolognese by Sandro Cuccio	Emilia Romagna: Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, Parma ham, balsamic vinegar, fresh egg pastas, fresh stuffed pastas, lasagna, ragu Bolognese, eels, roasted meats, mushrooms, piadina, sausages and salami.
	Toscana (Tuscany): beans, bread, olive oil, soups, grilled meat, steak, stews, pecorino cheese, salumi, wild boar, cabbage, mushrooms, bruschette, crostini and gelato.
	Umbria: pork (porchetta), olive oil, black truffles, salumi, lentils, freshwater fish, roasted or grilled meat or game birds, and meat or fish in porchetta.
Vincisgrassi by Mikko Kuhna	Le Marche: seafood and fish, brodetto (fish soup), freshwater fish, meat, mushrooms, truffles, vegetables, pecorino cheese, prosciutto, skewered and roasted game birds, olive all’ascolana (fried stuffed olives), porchetta (roast pork), potacchio (stewed fish, chicken or rabbit) and vincisgrassi (lasagna with chicken livers and black truffles).
	Lazio: guanciale, offal (rigatoni con la pajata), coda alla vaccinara (oxtail stew), artichokes, puntarelle, agretti, misticanza (mixed salad leaves), vignarola (vegetable stew), spaghetti all’amatriciana (spaghetti tomato and guanciale),spaghetti alla carbonara (spaghetti with guanciale and egg), gnocchi alla romana (baked semolina gnocchi with butter and cheese), saltimbocca (veal with prosciutto and sage), and porchetta (baked boned and stuffed pig).
Diavolicchi by Brigitte Wohack	Abruzzo-Molise: cheese, chillies (diavolicchi), honey, cured pork, vegetables, grilled fish and seafood, lamb, pork, sausages, pastas such as maccheroni alla chitarra, spicy tomato sauce, virtù (pork, pasta, and vegetable soup), ‘ndocca ‘ndocca (pork stew) and torrone.
	Campania: pizza, lemons, vegetables, aubergine Parmesan (eggplant Parmesan), tomatoes, tomato sauce, caprese salad, fish, dried pasta, spaghetti aglio olio, puttanesca, gnocchi sorrentina, cheese (especially mozzarella type cheeses), fish, seafood, spaghetti with clams, doughnuts, sfogliatella, pastiera, babà, sorbets, and limoncello.
	Puglia (Apulia): orecchiette pasta, taralli crackers, calzone, pizzas, olive oil, shellfish (especially oysters and mussels), plum tomatoes, lamb, salamis, mozzarella, scamorza, tiella (casseroles), aubergine, tomatoes, onions, peppers, lampascioni (wild grape hyacinth bulbs), green and black olives, and desserts with honey, nuts and/or ricotta cheese.
Burrata by Cathy Arkle	Basilicata: spicy food, pasta with tomato sauce, vegetables, beans, bread, pasta, aubergine Parmesan (eggplant Parmesan), grilled, baked or braised lamb or pork, salumi, cheese, nuts and oranges.
Chillies by Marco Lazzaroni	Calabria: chilli peppers, bergamot, citron, seafood, lamb, pork, sausages, swordfish, tuna, beans, sweet Tropea onions, citrus including bergamot, bread, pitta bread, aubergine Parmesan (eggplant Parmesan), murseddu (a spicy beef and pork liver and offal pate), gelato, spit-roasted goat, sagne chine (lasagna with meat and hard-boiled eggs) and pasta cu’ ra muddica (pasta topped with flavoured breadcrumbs).
Sicilian blood oranges by Rob Diamond	Sicilia (Sicily): citrus fruit (especially blood oranges, lemons and mandarins), artichokes, olives, almonds, pistachios, cactus pears, swordfish, tuna, calamari, red prawns, sweet and sour, spiced food, saffron, pasta, couscous, roasted meat and fish, pasta alla Norma (pasta with aubergine and tomatoes), pasta con le sarde(pasta with sardines and wild fennel), aubergine Parmesan (eggplant Parmesan), arancini (rice fritters), caponata (sweet and sour aubergine), marzipan, cannoli, cassata, granite and fruit gelato.
Roast suckling pig by Alpha	Sardegna (Sardinia): pane carasau (crispbread), pecorino cheese, sheep, honey, lobster, bottarga (pressed grey mullet roe), olive oil, pasta (including malloreddus), porcetto (spit-roast suckling pig), stews, fish soups, fish, eels and desserts made of honey, nuts, spices and/or candied or dried fruit.

Cities

A guide to the regions with the most unmissable cities in Italy:

Venezia by Rodrigo Soldon	Venezia (Venice) in Veneto
Duomo, Firenze by Marco Meoni	Firenze (Florence) in Toscana
Piazza San Pietro and Roma by Giampaolo Macorig	Roma (Rome) in Lazio

Beaches

Guides to the regions with the best beaches in Italy:

Alassio by Martina Rathgens	Liguria
Sorrento sunrise by Matthew Bordignon	Campania
Capo Vaticano by Anna Hesser	Calabria
Sardinia by Valentina A	Sardegna (Sardinia)

Wine

A guide to the best wine growing regions in Italy:

Nieve by Rachel Black	Piemonte (Piedmont): Barolo and Barbaresco
Vines in Chianti by Francesco Sgroi	Toscana (Tuscany): Brunello di Montalcino, Super Tuscans
Valpolicella vineyards by Ryan Opaz	Veneto: Amarone

Lakes

These regions have the most stunning lake scenery in Italy:

Isola San Giglio by Xerones	Lombardia (Lombardy): Lago Maggiore, Lago di Como, Lago di Garda and Lago d’Iseo
Lago di Misurina by Marco Gialdi	Veneto: Lago di Garda

Islands

Guides to the regions with the best islands in Italy:

Capri by Francesco Sgroi	Capri in Campania
Agrigento by Matteo Mignani	Sicilia (Sicily)
Maddalena Archipelago National Park by Cristiano Cani	Sardegna and the Maddalena Islands in Sardegna (Sardinia)

Skiing

A guide to the regions with the best skiing in Italy:

Courmayeur by Mauro Fuentes Alvarez	Valle d’Aosta :Courmayeur, Breuil-Cervinia, La Thuile, Gressoney la Trinitè, and Monte Rosa
Nuns admiring the scenery by Lorenzo Maddalena	Veneto : Cortina d’Ampezzo
Skiing in Madonna di Campiglio by Il Della	Trentino-Alto Adige: Vigo di Fassa, Canazei, Madonna di Campiglio, Selva di Val Gardena, Corvara in Val Badia and San Martino di Castrozza

Art

A guide to the regions housing some of the best Italian art:

Primavera by Sandro Botticelli in the Uffizi by Lynn	Firenze (Florence), Toscana (Tuscany): the Uffizi, Bargello Museum, Galleria Palatina and the Galleria dell’Accademia
Pinacoteca Nazionale museum in Bologna by Marco Assini	Bologna, Emilia Romagna: Pinacoteca Nazionale
La Pieta by Michelangelo by Dennis Jarvis	Roma (Rome), Lazio: Cappella Sistina (the Sistine Chapel), the art inside Basilica di San Pietro (St. Peter’s), Musei Vaticani (Vatican Museums), National Etruscan Museum, Galleria Borghese and Musei Capitolini.
Palazzo di Priori, Perugia by Federico Filipponi	Perugia (Umbria): Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria (National Gallery of Umbria)
Cenacolo by Sarmale Olga	Milano (Milan), Lombardia (Lombardy): Pinacoteca di Brera (Brera Picture Gallery) and the Castello Sforzesco
Fresco by Giotto di Bondone in Cappella degli scrovegni, Padova by Carla216	Venezia (Venice), Veneto: Gallerie dell’Accademia (Academy Gallery), I Frari church and the Collezione Peggy Guggenheim (Peggy Guggenheim Collection)