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
Aosta, Courmayeur, Gran Paradiso
Torino (Turin), Langhe
Genova (Genoa), Cinqueterre, San Remo, Portofino
Milano, Lago di Como (Lake Como), Lago Maggiore (Lake Maggiore), Cremona, Mantova
Trieste, Udine, Cividale del Friuli
Bolzano, Merano, Bressanone, Grande Strada delle Dolomiti
Venezia (Venice), Padova (Padua), Verona, Valpolicella
Bologna, Ravenna, Ferrara, Parma, Modena, San Marino
Firenze (Florence), Siena, Pisa, Montepulciano, Montalcino, Chianti, Arezzo, Lucca, Cortona
Assisi, Gubbio, Orvieto, Perugia, Norcia, Mount Sibillini National Park
Ascoli Piceno, Urbino, Numana, Riviera del Conero, Fermo
Roma (Rome), Vatican City
Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo (Abruzzo National Park), Parco Nazionale della Majella (Maiella National Park), Sulmona
Napoli (Naples), Capri, Ischia, Amalfi coast: Positano, Amalfi, Ravello, Monte Vesuvio (Mount Vesuvius), Pompeii, Ercolano (Herculaneum)
Terra dei Trulli: Albarello, Promontorio del Gargano (Gargano Promontory), Tremiti Islands, Lecce
Matera
MaTropea, Capo Vaticano, Costa degli Dei, Gerace, Reggio Calabria, Parco Nazionale della Sila (Sila National Park)tera
Palermo, Ustica, Agrigento, Isole Eolie (Aeolian Islands), Erice, Siracusa, Taormina
Costa Smeralda, Arcipelago della Maddalena (Maddalena Archipelago), Barumini, Castelsardo
Food in every region of Italy is excellent, but this list will give you an idea of what foods each regional cuisine emphasizes.
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Valle d’Aosta: soups, cheese, polenta, meat and game, cabbage, potatoes, lardo, chestnuts, chocolate, apples and rye bread |
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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. |
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Liguria: focaccia bread, olive oil, vegetables (artichokes, zucchini, borage, etc), marjoram, pesto sauce, seafood, savoury pies and pastas |
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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 |
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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 |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Toscana (Tuscany): beans, bread, olive oil, soups, grilled meat, steak, stews, pecorino cheese, salumi, wild boar, cabbage, mushrooms, bruschette, crostini and gelato. |
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Umbria: pork (porchetta), olive oil, black truffles, salumi, lentils, freshwater fish, roasted or grilled meat or game birds, and meat or fish in porchetta. |
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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). |
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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). |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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). |
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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. |
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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. |
A guide to the regions with the most unmissable cities in Italy:
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Venezia (Venice) in Veneto |
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Firenze (Florence) in Toscana |
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Roma (Rome) in Lazio |
Guides to the regions with the best beaches in Italy:
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Liguria |
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Campania |
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Calabria |
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Sardegna (Sardinia) |
A guide to the best wine growing regions in Italy:
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Piemonte (Piedmont): Barolo and Barbaresco |
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Toscana (Tuscany): Brunello di Montalcino, Super Tuscans |
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Veneto: Amarone |
These regions have the most stunning lake scenery in Italy:
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Lombardia (Lombardy): Lago Maggiore, Lago di Como, Lago di Garda and Lago d’Iseo |
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Veneto: Lago di Garda |
Guides to the regions with the best islands in Italy:
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Capri in Campania |
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Sicilia (Sicily) |
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Sardegna and the Maddalena Islands in Sardegna (Sardinia) |
A guide to the regions with the best skiing in Italy:
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Valle d’Aosta :Courmayeur, Breuil-Cervinia, La Thuile, Gressoney la Trinitè, and Monte Rosa |
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Veneto : Cortina d’Ampezzo |
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Trentino-Alto Adige: Vigo di Fassa, Canazei, Madonna di Campiglio, Selva di Val Gardena, Corvara in Val Badia and San Martino di Castrozza |
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A guide to the regions housing some of the best Italian art:
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Firenze (Florence), Toscana (Tuscany): the Uffizi, Bargello Museum, Galleria Palatina and the Galleria dell’Accademia |
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Bologna, Emilia Romagna: Pinacoteca Nazionale |
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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. |
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Perugia (Umbria): Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria (National Gallery of Umbria) |
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Milano (Milan), Lombardia (Lombardy): Pinacoteca di Brera (Brera Picture Gallery) and the Castello Sforzesco |
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Venezia (Venice), Veneto: Gallerie dell’Accademia (Academy Gallery), I Frari church and the Collezione Peggy Guggenheim (Peggy Guggenheim Collection) |