Europe & Britain | Food

An Italian food map

Recently updated on July 31st, 2023 at 04:51 pm

One of the best bits of Italian travel is trying the regional food and drink of each location you stop in. Each province of Italy is famous for a certain produce, with regional variations of the Italian classics (like pizza, pasta and wine) to experiment with. To help prepare your taste buds for your next trip to Italy, we’ve created an Italian food map revealing what delicacies to eat and where.

OUR ITALIAN FOOD MAP

 

food map of italy

[symple_callout fade_in=”true” button_text=”Explore Italy Trips” button_url=”https://www.trafalgar.com/destinations/europe/italy” button_color=”red” button_size=”large” button_border_radius=”30px” button_target=”self” button_rel=”” button_icon_left=”” button_icon_right=””]These are just some of the delicious Italian foods you can sample whilst on a Trafalgar Italy trip. [/symple_callout]

COTOLETTA ALLA MILANESE IN MILAN

Milan has a couple of signature dishes to its name. One is Risotto alla Milanese; a bright yellow saffron-infused risotto dish. The other dish is the Italian version of a chicken ‘parmi’ or veal schnitzel; Cotoletta alla Milanese is a veal (or in some cases, chicken) cutlet, breaded and butter fried.

Explore Milan’s restaurant scene on the Northern Italy including Cinque Terre trip.

 

PROSCIUTTO AND PARMESAN IN PARMA

Parma is officially Italy’s only “Creative City for Gastronomy”, after UNESCO awarded it with the title in 2015. Parma has a long history of being a gastronomic centre, with the most famous products being Parma ham (prosciutto di Parma) and parmesan cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano).

Try these foods at the source when you visit a working prosciutto factory and a Parmigiano Reggiano caseificio on the Northern Italy including Cinque Terre trip.

 

BOLOGNESE IN BOLOGNA

tagliatelle ragu bologna

Arguably the most staple pasta dish, Bolognese or Ragù hails from the Northern Italian city of Bologna. Commonly served on top of tagliatelle (which can also claim Bologna its birthplace) or used to fill a lasagne, you’ll never taste a more authentic Bolognese than in this city.

Visit Bologna on our Italian Discovery trip. Buon appetito!

 

BALSAMIC VINEGAR IN MODENA

The city of Modena is another Italian foodie haven. Home to numerous Michelin starred restaurants, the city streets are filled with the smells of salty prosciutto and fragrant parmigiano. But as well as Pavarotti and Ferrari, Modena is famous for being the birthplace of traditional balsamic vinegar. Pick up your own bottle of artisan Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena DOP as you get a guided tour of Modena on the Best of the Italian Lakes trip.

 

CHIANTI IN TUSCANY 

wine tasting tuscany

Iconic Chianti wines were traditionally served in a squat round bottle with a straw fiasco basket around it. Nowadays, most Chianti wines come in a standard shaped bottle, but will always don the official Chianti label of authenticity. You can taste a range of Chianti wines in the Chianti region, located between the provinces of Pisa, Florence, Siena and Arezzo in Tuscany. Sip Chianti wines in a local Tuscan wine farm on the Wonders of Italy trip.

 

OLIVE OIL IN TUSCANY

No other country in the world offers as many varieties of olive oil as Italy does. Travelling around central and southern Italy, you’ll see many acres of olive groves and farms, but Tuscany is a big producer of distinctly peppery olive oils. You can taste Tuscan olive oils at the source, either in a 12th Century castle on the Italian Discovery, or during a Be My Guest dinner on the Rome and Tuscan Highlights.

 

PIZZA IN NAPLES AND ROME

italian food pizza rome

It is widely accepted that the best pizzas are found in and around Naples, but you can actually get world class pizza all over the country. Rome is also a hub for pizzerias, with its own particular style of Roman pizza base. When in Rome on your Trafalgar tour, explore the Roman streets and try out some of the city’s best pizzerias.

 

LIMONCELLO IN AMALFI AND SORRENTO

limoncello amalfi italy

The warmer, dryer climes of Southern Italy and Sicily provide ideal conditions for growing lemons. When you visit the areas of Amalfi and Sorrento, make sure that you try the popular Italian spirit Limoncello. Spend an evening sitting in a local Amalfi bar, sipping Limoncello and watching the sunset turn the sky glorious shades of pink. Now, that’s la dolce vita.

Visit Amalfi and Sorrento on the Italian Concerto.

 

MARSALA WINE AND GELATO IN SICILY

ice cream gelato sicily

Sicily is not only famous for the beautiful beaches and majestic Mount Etna. The island is also famed for Sicilian gelato and Marsala wine. Marsala wine, often used in Italian cooking to make creamy cooking sauces, is produced in the region around the city of Marsala. And whilst ice cream is made and enjoyed across the whole of Italy, Sicilian gelato is especially famous.

Enjoy a true Sicilian food and wine experience on a wine farm at the foot of Mount Etna, on the Southern Italy and Sicily trip.

 

If this Italian food map has whetted your appetite for Italy, take a look at our Italy destination page for more information about our exclusive foodie experiences around the country. You can live la dolce vita with Trafalgar and Adam Swanson.

Featured Italy Trips

 

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10 cities | 1 country | 11 days

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[symple_column size=”one-third” position=”middle” fade_in=”false”]florence sunset duomoItalian Glory

7 cities | 1 country | 13 days

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[symple_column size=”one-third” position=”last” fade_in=”false”]trevi fountain romeWonders of Italy

9 cities | 1 country | 11 days

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  • David says:

    It would be helpful to have some sort of pronunciation guide in this article. The letters that are not pronounced in French are very different from those not pronounced in English. “vous” certainly doesn’t sound like it’s spelled … and so on.

    1. Jessica says:

      Hi David,

      I’m a fellow anglophone, but I’ve been learning French as a second language for many years. I hope these phonetic transliterations are helpful for you. In French, you do not pronounce the final consonants unless followed by a vowel, with some notable exceptions.
      Bonjour! Au revoir! – Bohnzrour! *note that the J in french is voiced and whereas the English J is very hard, they are considered different sounds in the international phoenetic alphabet.

      Au revoir! – Oh revwoir

      Comment vous appelez-vous? – Come-on vou ah-pel-eh vou?

      S’il vous plaît and merci – Sil vou play, mar-si

      Excusez-moi – Excuse-eh mwha

      Parlez-vous Anglais? – Parl-eh vou On-glay?

      Où est… – oooh Aey

      Où sont les toilettes? – Oooh son lez twa-let

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