Cuisine

Perhaps much to your surprise, what is known as "Italian cuisine" is a galaxy of regional cuisine. Every region in fact has its cuisine, contributing to the broader one with its own dishes. Probably the most important ones (of course the Italians hardly agree on this) are those of the region of Naples (pizza, sfogliatelle, pastiera, baba etc.), Bologna (lasagne, tortellini, ravioli, parmesan cheese, prosciutto-ham, Modena balsamic vinegar), Sicily (pasta alla Norma, pasta con sarde e pinoli, caponata, melanzane alla parmigiana, scacciate, cassata etc.), Liguria (the region of Genoa, with pasta al pesto for ex.) and Puglie (Apulia) for its "orecchiette", its whole wheat bread of Altamura and its very imaginative Mediterranean first courses and fish dishes.

The region of Tuscany is also famous for its steaks (bisteccha alla Fiorentina) and sweets (Saporelli and Panforte of Siena), the cuisine of Abruzzi for its meat dishes, the region of Milan for its "risotto" (rise) and the Christmas cake "Panettone" and finally Calabria for its very natural products, particularly tomatoes.




Italian Restaurants

Only the very best and famous Italian restaurants have a large selection of many dishes from various regions, including the wines, which are also different in every region. Normal good restaurants will have regional dishes and the most important dishes of other regions. Very simple restaurants or "trattorie" have just a few regional dishes and very few national ones. The solution to have an in-depth experience of the Italian cuisine, and hence of the regional cuisine, without facing the huge bill of the very best and famous restaurants, is trying another type of restaurant, the specific regional ones, having all the specialties of that region. Usually they clearly indicate their nature, i.e. the regional cuisine they prepare.
A particular feature of the Italian cuisine is that the Italians, even the wealthy ones, like to use simpler restaurants, and - if possible - home made food. Above all, although the Italian cuisine uses a complex array of criteria, ingredients and millenary considerations, it privileges simplicity in presentation and approach. This is why you will always find cheap, honest "trattorie" packed with locals, who would possibly still prefer home cooking (mum's is traditionally considered the best).
Most meals consist of a "primo" - pasta or cereal course -, "secondo" " (meat or fish for those who eat it, if not other dishes) and "contorno", side dish made by cooked vegetables or salad, served separately. Meals can include "antipasto" - hors d'oeuvre, "dolce" - dessert - and "frutta" (fruit).