Italy’s Hidden Gastronomic Treasures: Lesser-Known Foods Worth Traveling For
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Planning a trip to Italy centered around arts and cultural experiences must also include food. The traveler who seeks out a lesser-known museum or a neighborhood off the tourist circuit will find equally rich discoveries at the table.
This guide, contributed by the team at Eating Europe, highlights must-try dishes in Italy worth seeking out alongside galleries, piazzas, and historic neighborhoods.
Testaroli
If you’ve heard of gnocchi, then you have to try testaroli. This ancient pasta is flat and is often served with pesto, Parmesan, Pecorino cheese, or a simple dressing of olive oil and garlic. Originating in the region of Lunigiana, testaroli dates back to the ancient Etruscan civilization and is thought to have roots in some of Italy’s earliest flatbread traditions.
Today, you’ll be able to find testaroli in Lunigiana, a historical territory between Tuscany and Liguria, as well as Pontremoli in Tuscany, where it’s featured on nearly every restaurant’s menu. In Rome, the osteria Tonnarello in Trastevere occasionally features it as a seasonal special, worth asking about when you visit.
Lunigiana also sits within reach of the marble quarries of Carrara, where Michelangelo sourced stone for his sculptures, making it a natural stop on an arts itinerary through northern Tuscany.
Carciofi alla Romana
Roman-style artichokes are pan-braised and stuffed with fresh, chopped herbs. You’ll find them in every restaurant during the spring when the artichoke harvest is abundant. They make an amazing side dish and are the perfect way to sample some authentic Roman cuisine while you’re in the Eternal City.
This preparation is deeply tied to Roman-Jewish culinary tradition. The Jewish Ghetto neighborhood is one of the best places to try it. Da Giggetto, on Via del Portico d’Ottavia, has been serving carciofi alla Romana since 1923.
Panzanella
In Florence one of the most popular dishes locals love to make is panzanella. A crumbly bread salad with fresh vegetables, it’s the perfect way to use up stale bread while creating a simple, satisfying dish.
Traditionally eaten in summer during peak tomato season, panzanella is made with olive oil, fresh tomatoes, basil, and vinegar. Buca Mario, one of Florence’s oldest restaurants, does a reliable version; the Mercato Centrale food hall upstairs is another good spot to try it fresh.
The Mercato Centrale sits a short walk from San Lorenzo, where Michelangelo’s Medici Chapels are tucked behind the basilica and often overlooked by visitors rushing to the Uffizi.
Puccia
Not all Italian meals are sit-down affairs. Puccia is a quick sandwich made from grilled bread rolls popular in the Puglia region. The round, large roll is slightly fluffy on the inside, filled to order using a variety of local, seasonal ingredients.
It is a practical, satisfying lunch, the kind of thing locals eat standing up near the market. In Lecce, grab one from a small alimentari near Piazza Sant’Oronzo and eat it in the old town.
Lecce is one of southern Italy’s great baroque cities, its old town dense with elaborately carved church facades and palaces. Eating a puccia near Piazza Sant’Oronzo puts you at the heart of it.
Eat Your Way Through Italy
The dishes above are a starting point, not a complete list. Italy’s regional food culture is as deep and varied as its art history, and the best discoveries often happen when you follow your nose down a side street rather than consulting a guidebook.
If you want a more structured introduction to the food of a particular city, the team at Eating Europe runs excellent food tours across Italy, including Rome and Florence. Their guides know where locals actually eat, which is rarely where tourists are pointed. A food tour makes a natural complement to a museum-heavy day and a good way to orient yourself in a new neighborhood.
Find out more must-try dishes in destinations around Europe at eatingeurope.com.
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Carol M. Cram is the author of five award-winning historical novels inspired by art and the women who shaped it, the creator of Artsy Traveler, an arts-focused travel blog, the founder of Art In Fiction, a curated database of 2,500+ novels inspired by the arts, and the host of The Art In Fiction Podcast. She also authored 60+ textbooks on computer applications and taught at Capilano University for over two decades. She lives with her husband, artist Gregg Simpson, on beautiful Bowen Island near Vancouver, BC.