ITALY

THE LAND

• Italy is a long, thin peninsula that extends from the southern

coast of Europe.
• Its immediate neighbors—France, Switzerland, Austria, and
Slovenia—are in the north
• Except in the north, Italy is surrounded by water and has a
coastline of about 4,700 miles.
• Italy also includes a number of islands; the largest two are
Sicily and Sardinia.
• Italy also has two small independent states within its borders
—the Republic of San Marino and the Vatican City.
 ITALY
• Italy’s northern region consists of the Alps and the Po
valley.
• The largest city in the region is Genoa, the center of
Italy’s shipbuilding industry and the birthplace of
Christopher Columbus.
• The Po valley contains Italy’s most productive farmland,
much of which is devoted to growing grain, especially
rice, corn, and wheat.
• The central region contains the nation’s capital, Rome,
and Tuscany’s capital, Florence, historically two of the
most influential cities in Europe.
 ITALY
• Much of the land to the south is dry and yields
little agricultural products.
• Southern Italy is characterized by the rugged
terrain of the Apennine Mountains.
• Land in the south is not as fertile or as well-
irrigated as in the north.
• However, many small farms grow beans, wheat,
olives, and the grapes used to produce Chianti
wines.
 ITALY

• Sicily is the largest of all the Mediterranean

islands.
• Most of its hilly terrain is used to grow wheat
and beans and as grazing land for sheep.
• In the shadow of the active volcano Etna, tropical
fruit trees thrive.
• Sardinia has few good roads and a harsh,
mountainous terrain that is mainly used for
rearing sheep .
HISTORY
ITALY
• Italy has been ruled by emperors, popes, monarchs, democratically
elected presidents, and prime ministers.
• The migrations of Indo-European peoples into Italy probably began
about 2000 B.C. and continued to 1000 B.C.
• Know as the Etruscans, this founding civilization ruled from about
the 9th century B.C. until they were overthrown by the Romans in
the 3rd century B.C.
• By 264 B.C. much of Italy was under the leadership of Rome.
• For the next seven centuries, until the barbarian invasions
destroyed the western Roman Empire in the 4th and 5th centuries
A.D., the history of Italy is largely the history of Rome.
• From 800 A.D. on, the Holy Roman Emperors, Roman Catholic
popes, Normans, and Saracens all fought for control over various
segments of the Italian peninsula.
 ITALY
• The commercial prosperity of northern and central Italian cities,
beginning in the 11th century, combined with the influence of the
Renaissance starting in the 14th century, reduced the effects of
medieval political rivalries.
• Although Italy’s influence declined after the 16th century, the
cultural Renaissance had strengthened the idea of a single Italian
nationality.
• A nationalist movement developed and led to the reunification of
Italy in the 1860s—except for Rome, which joined a unified Italy in
1870.
• Followed by a monarchy, a dictatorship, and a new Italian
government after World War II, Italy has maintained its unity.
• Today, Italy is officially the Italian Republic with 20 regions that are
based primarily on history and culture.
 ITALY
THE PEOPLE
• Italians trace their culinary heritage to Romans, Greeks,
Etruscans, and other Mediterranean peoples who
developed the methods of raising, refining, and
preserving foods.
• Independent-minded attitudes developed among the
regions during the repeated shifts of ruling powers that
fragmented Italy throughout history.
• Italy can be considered a natural link to those African and
western Asian countries which, bordering the
Mediterranean Sea, have shared history and culture over
many centuries.
 ITALY
THE FOOD
• Italians are very proud of their cuisine as their
food is renowned throughout the world.
• Italian cooking is very regional, with different
towns and regions having their own traditions
and specialties.
• The tomato, one of the signature ingredients
of Italian cuisine, did not exist in Italy until
Columbus brought some back from the New
World.
 ITALY
• Olive oil is the principal cooking oil in the south.
• Butter is preferred in most of the north.
• Pasta in the south is normally tubular-shaped
and made from eggless dough while in the north
it is usually flat, ribbon-shaped and egg-enriched.
• Southern cooks season more assertively than
northern ones, using garlic and lots of strong
herbs.
• Northern cooks strive more for subtleties.
Northern Italy
ITALY
Northern Italy encompasses eight
of the country’s 20 regions:
• Emilia-Romagna
• Fruili-Venezia Giulia
• Liguria
• Lombardy
• Piedmont
• Trentino-South Tyrol
• Asota Valley
• Veneto
 ITALY
• These eight northern regions boast the nation's highest
standard of living and its richest diet in terms of both
abundance and variety.
• The plains that extend along the Po river proliferate
with grain, corn, rice, fruit, livestock, and dairy
products.
• Vineyards on slopes along the great arc formed by the
Alps and Apennines mountains are Italy's prime sources
of premium wine.
• Northern Italy also has a flourishing tourist trade on
the Italian Riviera, in the Alps, on the shores of its lakes.
 ITALY
• The cuisine here is characterized by the use of
butter (or lard), rice, corn (for polenta), and cheeses
for cream sauces.
• An exception would be the olive oils of the Liguria
and the Lakes regions.
• Pasta in the north is generally flat, ribbon-shaped
and egg enriched, but is less popular than risotto
and polenta.
• Seafood and shellfish are very popular on the coasts
and rivers and streams provide carp and trout.
 ITALY
• Emilia Romagna − Known as “Italy’s Food Basket”
• This area produces some of the country’s most
famous foods, including Prosciutto de Parma,
Mortadella, Parmigian-Reggiano, and balsamic
vinegar.
• Cooks here are especially skilled at making
stuffed pasta by hand, including the tortellini and
cappelletti , served with the famous Bolognese
meat sauce (Ragu). See Saveur #110 April 2008
 ITALY
• Friuli-Venezia Giulia – Slavic, Austrian, and
Hungarian influences make the cuisine unique.
• The city's Viennese sausage, goulash, cabbage
soups, and strudel pastries come from years
under Austro-Hungarian rule.
• Particular to the cooking is a pungent fermented
turnip preparation known as brovada, served
alongside spiced pork dishes.
• San Daniele prosciutto is considered one of the
world’s best hams.
 ITALY

• Known for its vast cornfields, which feed the areas

demand for polenta, the staff of life of this region.
• Depending on the region and the texture desired,
polenta is made with either coarsely, medium, or finely
ground dried yellow or white cornmeal.
• As it is known today, polenta derives from earlier forms
of grain mush made with such starches as the grain farro
or chestnut flour.
• When boiled, polenta has smooth creamy textures,
caused by the presence of starch molecules dissolved
into the water.
 ITALY
Liguria – Ligurian cuisine is called cucina del ritorno, or
“homecoming” cooking, as a tribute to the sailors who
would return home after months at sea.
• Fish dominates the menu, found in soups, stews, and salads.
• The most famous preparation from Liguria is its basil pesto
sauce.
• The olive oil of the region is an exception to most of
Northern Italian cooking.
• Because the salty air and humidity makes it difficult to bake
good bread and keep it from spoiling quickly, foccaccia was
devised as a bread alternative that could be eaten hot out of
the oven.
 ITALY

Lombardy – The region’s capital city of Milan is the most modern

and cosmopolitan of cities.
• Lombardy occupies the central part of the Po Valley.
• It is known for its rice dishes including Minestrone alla Milanese,
made with vegetables, rice, and bacon.
• Risotto alla Milanese is a creamy dish of braised short-grain rice
blended with meat stock, saffron, and cheese.
• Generous use of butter is a hallmark of Milanese/Lombard
cooking.
• Cream sauces are more popular here than in other regions.
• Being landlocked, Lombardy has few notable seafood specialties
 ITALY
• Meat (especially veal) is most popular.
• Osso buco is veal shank braised with tomato, onion,
stock, and wine, then topped with gremolata.
• The choicest morsel in osso buco ("hole in bone") is
the cooked marrow clinging to the hollow of the
bone.
• Regional cheeses include the Gorgonzola, the
creamy and mild Bel Paese, mascarpone, Taleggio.
• Panettone first appeared in Milan in about 1490
and was quickly adopted throughout Italy.
 ITALY
Piedmont- “the foot of the mountains”
• Culinary influences from neighboring France can be seen in the regional
cuisine.
• The white Alba truffle is considered the most delicious and sought after
truffle in the world, found between the months of November and February.
• Bagna cauda is warm dipping sauce made with olive oil, chopped garlic,
anchovies, butter, and sometimes sliced white truffles.
• Grissini are thin and crispy breadsticks.
• Piedmonte produces about half of Italy’s rice, and rice-based dishes are
regional specialties.
• Ribiola di Roccaverano is a 100% fresh cheese that is neither aged nor
matured.
• Barolo and Barbaresco wines are produced in this region.
• In addition to hunting truffles, fall is the time for hunting wild game,
gathering nuts, and harvesting grapes.
 ITALY
Trentino-South Tyrol (Alto Adige) – Shares culinary traditions with
Germany and Hungary and includes sauerkraut, beef goulash,
and fruit-stuffed gnocchi with browned butter and breadcrumbs.
• Rather than pasta or risotto, cooks in this region prefer polentas
and hearty soups garnished with bread dumplings.
• Speck, the region’s prized smoked ham, flavors numerous dishes,
from braised cabbage in red wine to long simmered pork stews.
• Speck shares its name with a German pork product, but while
German speck is basically lard, Italian Speck has similar
characteristics to smoked bacon.
• Unlike American bacon that comes from the belly portion of the
hog (same as Pancetta), speck is made from hog legs.
 ITALY
Valle d’Osta (Asota Valley) – The traditional cooking of this region incorporates
both French and Swiss influences.
• Traditional polent dishes are prepared by constantly stirring cornmeal, water,
and salt over heat for 40–45 minutes with a wooden stirring stick called a
mescola.
• The resulting “mush” is then poured onto a wooden board to slightly cool and
cut with kitchen string while still warm.
• Fontina cheese, a semi-cooked, straw yellow cheese with tiny holes and a soft
texture is used to make fonduta, or fondue, one of the region’s famous dishes.
• Local bread is made of cold-hardy northern grains like rye or buckwheat.
• Pane nero (black bread) is a staple food made with rye and wheat flours that was
once baked in the communal oven just once a year and dried to preserve it.
• Beef is the staple meat.
• Carbonade is a classic stew made with salt-cured or fresh beef, onions, red wine,
butter, and nutmeg, and is often served with polenta.
 ITALY
Veneto – The cooking is based on four basic foods: polenta, rice, beans, and
vegetables along with wild fowl, mushrooms, or seafood.
• Traditional courses include Risi e Bisi (rice and peas), and Fegato alla
Veneziana (calf’s liver fried with onions).
• Radicchio di Treviso is a bitter red chicory served as a salad but more often
grilled and served with salt and olive oil.
• Sopressa is a finely ground pork sausage, traditionally made from pigs fed
on chestnuts and potatoes.
• Bigoli, a long spaghetti-style fresh pasta with a hole in its middle, is made
on a hand-operated press by forcing pasta dough through the bigolaro.
• Veneto is home to the city of Venice, known for its romantic canals and
bridges.
• Unlike other parts of Veneto, Venice has the availability of fresh seafood.
• Baccala is served throughout the area, often mixed with polenta into a
“cream” and served as an appetizer.
 ITALY
Central Italy
• Central Italy encompasses
six of the country’s regions:

• Abruzzo
• Latium
• Marches
• Molise
• Tuscany
• Umbria
 ITALY
• The summers are hotter and longer than those in the North,
and consequently tomato-based dishes are more common
than they are further north.
• Braised meats and stews, grilled or roasted beef, lamb,
poultry, pork, and game are popular.
• Central Italy has a rich farming tradition and cultivates
many crops that are difficult to find elsewhere, including
farro, an ancient grain domesticated by the Romans, and
saffron.
• Miles of olive groves and vineyards dominate parts of the
landscape.
• The cuisine is simple and rustic dishes are served with light
sauces and seasonings.
 ITALY
Abruzzo – This region is sparsely populated and geographically
diverse.
• It is known for its livestock and farming, saffron, and seafood
specialties.
• Pasta, vegetables, and meat (especially lamb and pork) are
the staples of this region.
• The most common pasta is maccheroni alla chitarra ( the
device used in its production, made of a wooden box strung
with steel wire, resembles a guitar. )
• This is traditionally served with a lamb, tomato, and
peperoncino sauce, sprinkled with local Pecorino (sheep’s
milk) cheese.
• The red chili pepper peperocino is known as diavolino, or little
devil, and is a key ingredient in the cuisine of this area.
 ITALY
• The town of Sulmona is Italy’s confectionary capital and
is where the sugared almond was created 250 years ago.
• This traditional wedding candy (confetti), which signifies
the bitter and sweet union of marriage.
• Given to guests in a group of 5 candies, each of which
signifies Health, Wealth, Happiness, Longevity, and
Fertility.
• The region's cheeses include a vast assortment of
pecorino, and scamorza, a close relative of mozzarella.
• Three types of wine are predominate: Montepulciano, a
robust red; Cerasuolo, a rosè; and Trebbiano d'Abruzzo, a
crisp white.
 ITALY
Latium – This rustic region is home to Rome.
• Milk-fed lamb is a favorite dish, usually baked and served
with seasonal vegetables.
• Sheep's milk cheese is produced abundantly.
• Simple pastas made of flour and water are the basis of many
famous pasta dishes.
• Bucatini all'amatriciana - tomato, onion, bacon, and a dash
of cognac.
• Spaghetti alla carbonara - bacon, eggs, butter, and cheese
sauce dusted with black pepper "coal flakes“
• Spaghetti alla Puttansesca - garlic, tomatoes, capers, olives,
herbs, and anchovies.
 ITALY
• Over 90 varieties of artichokes are grown in Italy and
are very popular in Rome where they are flattened
and fried twice for carcioif alla guidia (Jewish style)
or prepared Alla Romana, stuffed with breadcrumbs,
parsley and anchovies.
• Meat dishes include Abbacchio al forno (roast lamb)
or alla cacciatora (lamb with an anchovy and
rosemary sauce) and Saltimbocca—a fillet of veal
rolled in ham with sage and served in a Marsala
sauce.
 ITALY
Marches − The food is a mix of rustic fare and seafood.
• Brodetto is a seafood stew found along the Adriatic coast.
• Dried cod is used in a dish called stoccafisso.
• Sea snails cooked in fennel are a delicacy.
• The signature dish is porchetta, where a roast suckling pig
is either served whole, or is sliced into crispy bread rolls.
• Classic pastas include papardelle alla papara, a flat pasta
with duck sauce and vincigrassi, a lasagna containing
cream, truffles, ragu, butter, parmigiano-reggiano and
mozzarella.
 ITALY
• Other specialties of the Marches include olives stuffed
with meat and lightly fried, pasta served with clams and
mussels, risotto with farro grain, smoked trout, rabbit with
fennel and sausage, and fava beans with fresh pecorino
cheese.
• Ciauscolo salami is a specialty made by kneading finely
ground pork of with a good quantity of fat until the
mixture is very much like a pate then smoked, meant to be
spread onto bread rather than sliced.
• Casciotta d’Urbino cheese is pale yellow that is lightly
perforated by characteristic little holes. Made from
sheep’s and cow’s milk, it is eaten after maturing for 20–30
days.
 ITALY
Molise – Because of their joint history, Molise shares many of the culinary
traditions of the Abruzzo region and there are also a few dishes unique to the
region.
• p'lenta d'iragn, a white polenta made with potatoes and wheat and served
with a tomato sauce.
• calconi di ricotta rustica, ravioli stuffed with ricotta, provolone, and
prosciutto, then fried in oil.
• Very little meat is eaten and because the animals were meant to be sold,
meat was considered a luxury.
• Vegetables, cheese, pasta, grains, and fresh fruit still dominate the diet today.
• Chili and garlic lace nearly every dish, as does Molise's golden olive oil.
• The cheeses of Molise include scamorza, mateca, and burrino.
• Apple orchards with a very old type of tree that produces very aromatic fruit
known as mela limoncella. 
• Many families used to display these apples around their kitchen and living
room doorframes because of their special scent.
 ITALY
Tuscany – The Etruscans, likely from Asia Minor,
settled primarily in Tuscany around 1000 B.C.,
planting vines and olive groves.
• It has been said that this is where Italian cooking
was born—at the court of the Medici.
• The region is home to the extra virgin Tuscan olive
oil, an intense oil with a green-to-golden color.
• The white hided cattle found in Tuscany’s Chianna
valley produce large cuts of meat which is low in fat.
• Florence offers its famous alla fiorentina steak.
 ITALY
• Ribollita, a thick vegetable soup.
• Fagioli all'uccelletto, beans sautéed in garlic and sage with
tomatoes.
• Fagioli al Fiasco with oil, onions, and herbs cooked in a round
bottle (fiasco) over a coal fire.
• Seafood dishes include triglie (red mullet) and a fish soup
known as Cacciucco alla Livornese.
• Known as “strong bread” and once considered an aphrodisiac,
Panforte is a cake containing almonds, honey, candied lemon
and orange peel and spices.
• Tuscan wines are known worldwide, including Chianti, which
comes in both red and white varieties.
 ITALY
Umbria – Nicknamed "The Green Heart of Italy," Umbria is
just southeast of Tuscany.
• Landlocked, it relies on pork for most of its classic
preparations, and its pork butchers are said to be the
best in Italy: every scrap of the pig is put to good use.
• Guanciale (the salted and cured meat from the pig's
cheek) are added to pasta sauces and pots of fava beans
or peas.
• Norcia in the Apennine foothills is the home of Italy's
best black truffles (tartufo nero).
• Unlike white truffles, which should only be eaten raw,
black truffles can be heated and added to sauces and
pastas without losing their flavor.
 ITALY
• Many types of hand-made pasta like Strozzapreti
(priest stranglers) are not typically found outside
Umbria.
• Besides homemade fresh egg pastas, the production
of much of the dried pasta consumed throughout Italy
occurs in Umbria.
• The wines of Umbria rank among Italy's finest and
include Orvieto, Rosso di Montefalco, Sagrantino di
Montefalco, and vin santo, a sweet desert wine often
consumed with biscotti.
• Umbria is home to Perugina (now owned by Nestle),
one of the major chocolate producers in Italy.
Southern Italy
•
ITALY
Southern Italy, often referred
to as the Mezzogiorno,
encompasses four of the
country’s regions:

• Basilicata
• Campania
• Calabria
• Apulia (Puglia)
• Sicily
• Sardinia
 ITALY
• The symbol of southern Italian cooking is the tomato, although it
arrived with peppers, beans, and potatoes from America in the
1500s.
• The eggplant was originally cultivated in Asia, although it now
distinguishes many classic southern Italian dishes.
• The piquancy of southern cooking comes from herbs and spices,
above all garlic and chili peppers.
• Italy's first pasta was produced in the south, though noodles
were preceded by flatbreads called focacce, forerunners of pizza,
which originated in Naples.
• Baked goods, including pastries, biscuits, and cakes, abound in
the Mezzogiorno, though nowhere as evident as in Sardinia,
where each village has its own style of bread making.
 ITALY
• Arab settlers in Sicily established a pasta industry
during the Middle Ages, using durum wheat for the
dried pasta types that still prevail in the south.
• Tubes and other forms of "short" pasta may be
referred to generically as maccheroni, distinguished
from "long" types such as spaghetti and vermicelli.
• Also popular are spiral-shaped fusilli, oblique tubes
called penne, and larger tubes called ziti.
• Fresh pasta, not usually made with eggs, is used in
such familiar dishes as lasagne, fettuccine and
ravioli as well as many other local specialties.
 ITALY
Basilicata – Historically one of Italy's poorest and least
populated regions and, even with an improved economic
situation, the cuisine remains anchored in peasant
traditions.
• Along the region’s coastline, seafood plays a major role in
the diet with favorites including mussels, oysters,
octopus, red mullet, and swordfish.
• Vegetables include fava beans, artichokes, chicory, and
various greens including rucola ("rocket").
• Eggplants, peppers, lampasciuoli (a bitter type of onion),
cauliflower, olives, and olive oil are all regional staples.
• Regional pastas include orecchiette and bucatini.
 ITALY
Campania − Best known around the world for its pizza.
• The cuisine relies on vegetables and herbs, capers, dried pasta, and fresh
farmhouse cheeses.
• In the nineteenth century, people living in the capital city of Naples were
nicknamed Mangia Maccheroni
• Their pasta is considered among the best and the most varied in all of
Italy.
• Spaghetti with Pommarola, the famous tomato sauce.
• The volcanic soils of Campania grow some of the best produce in Italy,
including San Marzano tomatoes, peaches, grapes, apricots, figs, oranges,
and lemons.
• Campania's most famous cheese is the Mozzarella di Bufalo Campania,
made from the milk of local water buffalos.
• Other popular cheeses include sheep's milk Pecorino, Scamorza, Ricotta,
and Mascarpone.
• Parmigiano Reggiano is popular in recipes of Campania, with meat and
vegetable dishes served alla Parmigiana.
• Campania is also renowned for their fish
and seafood specialties.
• Cooks tenderize octopus by stewing it in
a sealed clay pot with olive oil, garlic,
capers, olives, and parsley or with chilies
and tomatoes.
• Squid and cuttlefish are boiled and
served in salads, stuffed and baked, or
fried into rings, while mussels and clams
are cooked and tossed with handmade
pasta or added to seafood salads.
• Salt cod, fresh sardines, and anchovies
too are staples. ITALY
• Christmas is celebrated with a dish of
eel marinated with vinegar and herbs or
 ITALY
• Originating in Naples more than 300 years ago pizza was little known in Italy
(outside of Naples) until the 1970s.
• Pizza came to the United States early in the 20th century during the great
migration of Italians from Southern Italy.
• In 2004, Italy drew up a series of rules that must be followed to make a true
Neapolitan pizza.
- the dough must rise for at least six hours and must be kneaded and
shaped by hand
- the pizza must be round and no more than 13.7 inches in diameter
- it may only be cooked in a wood-fired oven.
- only three variations of pizza are permitted:
*Marinara with garlic and oregano
*Margherita with basil, tomatoes and cheese from the southern
Apennine Mountains
*“Extra Margherita” which includes buffalo mozzarella from the
Campania region.
 ITALY
Calabria – Surrounded by the Tyrrhenian and the Ionian Seas,
Calabria has 500 miles of coastline (the longest of any Italian
region).
• Over the centuries, Greek, Arab, and Albanian influences have
shaped the cuisine, where characteristic dishes are flavored
with chili pepper; sweet-and-sour preparations are popular;
and desserts are often deep-fried and soaked in honey.
• Melanzane alla parmigiana, or eggplant parmesan was
created in Calabria where the eggplant crop thrives (dry
climate, high temperature, and nearly calcium free soil prevent
a build-up of the fruit’s bitter juices and concentrate its sweet
flavor.
 ITALY
• A popular breakfast in this region is called murseddu, a ragu
made from pig and calf’s liver that is cooked slowly in
tomatoes, herbs, and hot red pepper, and then stuffed in
the local pitta bread.
• Despite numerous attempts to export production to other
areas in Italy and the world, bergametto, or bergamot
oranges, thrive only in Calabria.
• Bergamot oranges have a smooth, thin peel, an acidic
flavor, and an intense scent.
• Their essential oil is used to flavor liqueurs, tea (such as
Earl Grey), sweets, and drinks.
 ITALY
• Apulia − Three staples are wheat, vegetables, and olive oil.
• Semolina flour is turned into a variety of handmade pastas which
are boiled with wild or cultivated greens, tossed with hearty meat
ragus, or cooked into soups.
• Wheels of rustic bread are baked and serve as the starting point for
numerous appetizers, salads, soups, and simple desserts.
• frisedda, an interesting twice-baked ring-shaped bread
• Almost every dish is topped with olive oil, the region being Italy's
largest producer.
• Fava beans are used to prepare thick soups, salads, and side dishes.
• Rice is baked with potatoes and seafood or vegetables to make an
unusual main course called tiella (named after the pot in which it is
cooked).
• The Apulians, shepherds by trade since ancient
times, tend to prefer lamb, mutton, kid, and goat ITALY
meat, which they cook simply with fragrant herbs,
olive oil, and tomatoes or potatoes.
• Offal is popular in the area and lamb's hearts and
intestines are skewered and cooked on a grill, then
eaten with raw celery and sharp sheep's milk
cheese.
• Pastries, cakes, and fritters are based on honey,
nuts, and dried fruit, their origins in ancient Greece
and the Orient.
• Apulians use a wide variety of wild and cultivated
greens in the kitchen. (sorrel, rapini, dandelion)
• They tame the bitterness of these potent greens by
lengthy cooking.
• They don't believe in undercooking vegetables,
prefering them slippery soft, never crunchy.
• Bitter greens are typically boiled first in ample water,
then sautéed slowly in olive oil.
 ITALY
Sicily – The cuisine reflects the many invaders in this island’s
history.
• seafood, eggplant, tomatoes, potatoes, cheeses, figs, capers,
olives, almonds, pine nuts, fennel, raisins, lemons, and
oranges.
• In parts of Sicily there are sweet and sour combinations like
caponata, a mix of eggplant, tomatoes, celery, olives, and
capers cooked with vinegar and sugar.
• The ceci, or chick pea, has played an important role in Sicilian
history and is well represented in the diet.
• Panella is a thin paste made of crushed ceci and served fried.
• Maccu is a creamy soup made from the same bean.
• Pasta is often served with a rich spicy tomato sauce.
 ITALY
• Popular Sicilian seafood dishes include grilled swordfish or
snapper, Finocchio con le Sarde (fennel with sardines), and
Sepia (cuttlefish) served in its own black sauce with pasta.
• The best known Sicilian meat dish is Vitello al Marsala (veal
marsala) and is just one of many regional meat specialties
that can also be made with lamb, kid, or rabbit.
• No other part of Italy has as many sweets and ices.
• Many desserts are derived from Arab and Greek influences
and are made with almond pastes, candied fruits, ricotta,
honey, raisins, and nuts.
• The best-known wine is Marsala which is dark and strong.
 ITALY
• Sardinia- Inhabited since the Neolithic Age, Phoenician, Greek,
Arab, Spanish, and French invaders have come and gone, marking
the local language, customs, and cuisine.
• The mountainous inland terrain is home to wild animals (boar,
mountain goat, hare, and more) which are transformed into pasta
sauces, stews, and roasts.
• Lamb, the island's favorite meat, is often cooked with wild fennel,
and sheep's milk cheese appears at nearly every meal.
• Spicy fish soups called burrida and cassola, along with lobsters,
crabs, anchovies, squid, clams, and fresh sardines are all very
popular along the Sardinian coast.
• Pasta dishes include Spaghetti con Bottarga, with dried gray mullet
roe shaved on top.
• Malloreddus, a gnocchi flavored with saffron and served with a
tomato sauce.
• Culingiones are round ravioli stuffed with spinach and cheese.
 ITALY
• Sardinia is known for its rustic sheep and goat
cheeses like Pecorino Sardo and Fiore Sardo,
which can either be served fresh or aged.
• The Sardinian interior produces some of the
best lamb in all of Italy, known for being very
lean.
• Lamb, Porceddu, (Sardinian version of
Porchetta), or kid (suckling goat) is roasted
outdoors over aromatic woods.