Atlas of Italian food
The Italian food you keep hearing about
What it actually is, how it differs from the version sold at home, what to use when you cannot find it — and where in Italy to eat the real one.
SweetsTiramisuTiramisu is an uncooked layered dessert: crisp savoiardi biscuits dipped in cold espress…Pasta and breadBucatiniBucatini are thick spaghetti with a hole running through the middle. The hole is the who…Pasta and breadGnocchiGnocchi are small boiled dumplings, in their modern form made of potato bound with a lit…CheeseBurrataBurrata is a pouch of fresh mozzarella filled with stracciatella, shredded curd soaked i…SweetsCannoliA cannolo is a fried pastry tube filled with sweetened sheep's-milk ricotta. One rule se…Pasta and breadFocacciaFocaccia is a flat, oil-rich Ligurian bread, dimpled with the fingertips and finished wi…Cured meatsMortadellaMortadella is a large cooked pork sausage from Bologna: meat ground to a silky paste, st…Cured meatsPancettaPancetta is Italian cured pork belly: salt, pepper and warm spices, dried for months, ne…Pasta and breadTortelliniTortellini are tiny ring-shaped egg pasta parcels filled with pork, prosciutto, mortadel…Pasta and breadAranciniArancini are deep-fried Sicilian rice balls: saffron rice moulded around a filling of me…Cured meatsGuancialeGuanciale is cured pork jowl: unsmoked, rubbed with salt and pepper, aged for one to thr…Pasta and breadSpaghettiA solid round strand of durum semolina and water, 1.7 to 2.0mm across. It looks like the…
All 233 foods →01 — Know the difference
The comparisons everyone gets wrong
Not an opinion from a forum thread: the cut, the cure, how it behaves in the pan, and when the swap actually matters.
ComparedCantabrian Anchovies vs Mediterranean anchoviesIdentical species, different fish on the plate. Mediterranean anchovies (Cetara, Sciacca, Monterosso…ComparedBalsamic Vinegar vs Balsamic Vinegar of Modena IGP (the supermarket bottle)This is the biggest gap between name and content in Italian food, and it is entirely legal. Traditio…ComparedSulmona Red Garlic vs Ordinary white garlicThe garlic sold in nets everywhere, usually softneck varieties from China, Spain or Argentina, bred …ComparedSardinian Lamb vs New Zealand lambNew Zealand lamb dominates the European and British market and is a completely different product. Th…ComparedAgnolotti vs RavioliRavioli is the general Italian word for stuffed pasta; agnolotti is a specific Piedmontese member of…ComparedMenaica Anchovies vs Ordinary salt-packed anchoviesSame species, different catch method, and the catch method is the whole product. Ordinary salted anc…
02 — Can't find it?
What to use instead
Honest substitutes with ratios, including vegetarian and pork-free options — and a straight answer on when the dish stops being the dish.
SubstitutesCantabrian Anchovies substitutesItalian salt-packed anchovies (Cetara, Sciacca, Monterosso) · Standard oil-packed anchovy fillets · Colatura di alici or Asian fish sauceSubstitutesBalsamic Vinegar substitutesSaba (or vin cotto) · Aged Pedro Ximénez sherry vinegar · Reduced IGP balsamicSubstitutesSulmona Red Garlic substitutesHardneck garlic: Spanish Roja, German Red, Music, Rocambole · Ail rose de Lautrec (France) · Aglio Bianco Polesano DOP or Aglio di Voghiera DOPSubstitutesSardinian Lamb substitutesMilk-fed lamb from any source · The youngest spring lamb available · Kid goat (capretto)SubstitutesAgnolotti substitutesFresh meat ravioli or cappelletti · Homemade, using Sunday's roast · Wonton wrappersSubstitutesMenaica Anchovies substitutesCantabrian anchovy fillets · Cetara or Sciacca salt-packed anchovies · Boquerones en vinagre
03 — Where it comes from
Every food belongs to a place
Guanciale comes from the hills north of Rome, burrata from one corner of Puglia, bottarga from a lagoon in Sardinia. Twenty regions, one hundred and seven provinces, and a different way of eating in each.
Index of regions
Hover the map · ISTAT boundaries
04 — Experiences
Food tours and cooking classes
What actually happens on each one, what it costs, when to go — and when it is a tourist trap dressed up as tradition.
All experiencesRome Food TourROMEBologna Food TourBOLOGNAFlorence Food TourFLORENCERome Cooking ClassROMETuscany Cooking ClassTUSCANYTuscany Wine TourTUSCANYTuscany Truffle HuntingTUSCANYPiedmont Truffle HuntingPIEDMONTVenice Food TourVENICENaples Food TourNAPLESPalermo Street Food TourPALERMOParma Ham and Parmesan TourPARMAModena Balsamic Vinegar TourMODENABologna Pasta Cooking ClassBOLOGNAFlorence Cooking ClassFLORENCEChianti Wine TourCHIANTIBarolo Wine TourPIEDMONTTurin Chocolate TourTURINVerona and Valpolicella Wine TourVERONAAlba Truffle HuntingPIEDMONTNaples Pizza Making ClassNAPLESRome Pasta Making ClassROMESicily Street Food TourSICILYAmalfi Coast Lemon Grove TourAMALFI-COASTPuglia Olive Oil TourPUGLIAMilan Food TourMILANSicily Cooking ClassSICILYVenice Cicchetti Tour (Bacaro Crawl)VENICE
One food, one place, one thing worth the trip
Once a week. Nothing else.