Regional Variations Influencing Italian Cuisine

There is more to Italian cuisine, than pasta and pizza. When you visit an Italian restaurant and look at the menu, you will see it contains a variety of different dishes, desserts and beverages.

Different Italian regions are influenced by different histories, with a different specialty cuisine depending on the dominant local ingredients.

For example, Roman cuisine is dominated by offal and Pecorino, which is a cheese made from sheep milk. Simple food, like white beans and meat dominate the cuisine of Tuscany. Their range of spices include parsley, basil and thyme.

Lasagna and tortellini is the food of Emilia-Romagna. While pastries and mozzarella cheese dominate the local cuisine in Naples. The island of Sardinia is known for its saffron and fennel spiced seafood and meat dishes. Calabria is famous for its salami.

Abruzzo's cuisine relies on chili peppers. The cuisine from the island of Sicily relies heavily on fish including tuna and swordfish. Sardinian cuisine features lamb.

Specific types of rice are grown in Piedmont and Lombardy. As a result, these areas are popular for their rice dishes.

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