The Country That
Gave the World
Its Sense of Beauty

Bologna — “La Grassa” (the Fat One) — is the capital of Emilia-Romagna, which is the most consequential food region on earth. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (the original Parmesan — only produced in the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, and Mantua, aged minimum 12 months, a different product entirely from the pre-grated varieties), Prosciutto di Parma (the air-cured ham aged 18–36 months in the hills above Parma — visit the Prosciutto di Parma producers for a tasting and the production process), Mortadella (the original Bologna sausage — nothing like the processed Australian equivalent), Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena (the genuine aged balsamic — aged minimum 12 years in small barrels of progressively smaller wood species — a condiment of extraordinary complexity sold by the 100ml bottle for EUR 50–200). The tagliatelle al ragù bolognese (the original — hand-rolled egg pasta with a slow-cooked meat sauce — no spaghetti, no tomato in the ragù in the traditional recipe) at Trattoria Anna Maria or Osteria dell’Orsa in Bologna is the finest pasta dish in Italy. Two nights in Bologna is the correct food pilgrimage.

Campania is the origin of the Italian food culture that the world knows — the Neapolitan pizza (pizza napoletana DOC — a certification with 97 rules governing flour, water, fermentation time, wood-fired oven temperature of 485°C, and the approved toppings: the Margherita and Marinara being the two traditional variants — L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele on Via Cesare Sersale, Naples, has been making the same two pizzas since 1870 for EUR 5–6; the queue is permanent and worth every minute), the Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP (fresh buffalo milk mozzarella from the Caserta and Salerno provinces — eaten the day it is made, at room temperature, with no accompaniment except bread and olive oil — the product you have been eating in Australia is a factory shadow of this), and the spaghetti alle vongole (clams, white wine, garlic, parsley — the definitive Neapolitan pasta, made correctly only in fish restaurants with access to the day’s catch). The pastiera napoletana (Easter wheat and ricotta tart) and sfogliatelle (layered pastry shells filled with ricotta — from the Bar San Gregorio Armeno on Spaccanapoli, 6am) are the essential sweet pastries.

Tuscany’s food culture is built on quality ingredients treated with restraint — the antithesis of the south’s abundance and complexity. The bistecca alla fiorentina (a T-bone of Chianina beef, the white Tuscan cattle, 2–3cm thick, cooked on charcoal to rare — never medium — served on the bone, priced by weight at EUR 8–12 per 100g — Buca Mario or Buca dell’Orafo in Florence), the ribollita (a twice-cooked bean and bread soup that defines Florentine cucina povera), the pici (a thick hand-rolled pasta of the Siena area, best with sugo all’aglione — the Sienese giant garlic sauce). The wines: Chianti Classico (the Sangiovese-based red of the Chianti hills between Florence and Siena — the Gallo Nero — drink it in the cantina where it was made), Brunello di Montalcino (the most prestigious Italian red — Sangiovese grosso aged minimum 5 years — visit the producers in Montalcino for a tasting; Biondi Santi and Casanova di Neri are the benchmark estates), and Sagrantino di Montefalco (Umbria’s magnificent tannic red — Caprai’s 25 Anni is the reference wine). White truffles of Umbria (Alba’s are more famous, but Norcia’s black truffles and the Marche’s summer truffles are the more accessible — available year-round in various grades).

Piedmont (the “foot of the mountains” — the northwestern corner of Italy bordering France and the Alps) has the most formally sophisticated regional cuisine in Italy, combining French influence (centuries of Savoy rule), a mountain-valley landscape that produces exceptional rice (Carnaroli and Vialone Nano for risotto — the only rices that correctly execute risotto’s creaminess), hazelnuts (Nocciola Piemonte IGP — the hazelnut that Ferrero’s Nutella is based on), and the world’s finest white truffle. The Tartufo Bianco d’Alba (the Piedmontese white truffle, available October–December — the tartufo bianco has no equivalent in the food world for aromatic intensity; a few grams shaved over simple egg pasta elevates the dish to a different category) is the reason serious food travellers come to Piedmont. The Barolo and Barbaresco wines (Nebbiolo grape — the most complex and long-lived Italian red wines, aged minimum 38 months for Barolo; the Langa hills of Barolo and Barbaresco are the Burgundy of Italy) are the twin peaks of Italian wine. Bagna càuda (the Piedmontese “hot bath” — anchovy and garlic sauce, kept warm at the table, for dipping raw vegetables — the definitive Piedmontese social food, eaten in autumn and winter) and vitello tonnato (the cold thinly-sliced veal with tuna and caper sauce — the most counterintuitive excellent dish in Italy) complete the picture.

Sicilian cuisine is the most historically complex of Italy’s regional foods — a 2,500-year layering of Greek, Arab, Norman, Spanish, and Bourbon influences that has produced a food culture of extraordinary variety and depth. The Arab influence is most visible in the sweet-and-savoury combinations (the caponata — sweet-and-sour aubergine with capers, olives, and vinegar), the use of spices (saffron, cinnamon, nutmeg in savoury dishes), and the pastry tradition (the cannoli — fried pastry shells filled with sweet ricotta and candied citrus — eat them at the Pasticceria Cappello in Palermo, not at a tourist trap on the main street; the cassata — the layered sponge, ricotta, marzipan, and candied fruit cake that is the most elaborate Sicilian confection). The pasta con le sarde (pasta with sardines, pine nuts, raisins, and wild fennel — the Arab element in the Sicilian kitchen most directly), the arancini (fried rice balls — the street food of Palermo, available in every bar from 7am), and the Nero d’Avola wine (the rich, full-bodied red native to Sicily’s southeast — drink it in the Valle di Noto, not from a supermarket shelf) are the essentials.