Italy is a minefield of foods that'll destroy diets. In the southern town of Matera, this addictive Assassin Spaghetti dish makes use of locally grown killer chilies.
Matera, Basilicata —
Italy is a minefield of foods that'll destroy diets. In the southern town of Matera, this addictive Assassin Spaghetti dish makes use of locally grown killer chilies.
Courtesy La Talpa
Not all Matera's chilies are super-heated. These sun-dried-then-fried giant Crusco peppers are sweet-salty rather than hot. Eat one and you've condemned yourself to eating an entire plateful.
Crusco chilies —
Not all Matera's chilies are super-heated. These sun-dried-then-fried giant Crusco peppers are sweet-salty rather than hot. Eat one and you've condemned yourself to eating an entire plateful.
Courtesy La Talpa
This town on Italy's eastern Trabocchi coast is famous for its restaurants that have been converted from fishing huts.
Vasto, Abruzzo —
This town on Italy's eastern Trabocchi coast is famous for its restaurants that have been converted from fishing huts.
Silvia Marchetti
Vasto's classic dish is brodetto. It's a giant fish meal that requires diners to show self-restraint, lest they fill up before the dish's final coup de grace. That's when angel hair pasta is added.
Brodetto —
Vasto's classic dish is brodetto. It's a giant fish meal that requires diners to show self-restraint, lest they fill up before the dish's final coup de grace. That's when angel hair pasta is added.
Silvia Marchetti
For centuries, Milan's signature panettone cake was only enjoyed at Christmas. Now, gourmet versions made with marron glaces, pine nuts, nuts, apricots, figs, black cherries and pineapple are sold year-round.
Milan —
For centuries, Milan's signature panettone cake was only enjoyed at Christmas. Now, gourmet versions made with marron glaces, pine nuts, nuts, apricots, figs, black cherries and pineapple are sold year-round.
Courtesy TaMilano
This Milanese pastry boutique sells panettones weighing up to 10 kilograms, accompanied by pears and hand-made chocolate.
T'a Milano —
This Milanese pastry boutique sells panettones weighing up to 10 kilograms, accompanied by pears and hand-made chocolate.
Courtesy TaMilano
Just to the north of Naples lies Caserta, said to be home to the best mozzarella in Italy -- and by that logic, the best in the world.
Caserta, Campania —
Just to the north of Naples lies Caserta, said to be home to the best mozzarella in Italy -- and by that logic, the best in the world.
Courtesy Consorzio Mozzarella DOP
Made from a recipe handed down from monks in the 12th century, the cheese can be bought fresh from local dairies. They usually sell out by 10 a.m. each day.
Cheese to go —
Made from a recipe handed down from monks in the 12th century, the cheese can be bought fresh from local dairies. They usually sell out by 10 a.m. each day.
Courtesy Consorzio Mozzarella DOP
It's less popular with tourists than its Umbrian rivals Perugia and Assisi, but unlike its sister towns, Nursia is a pork paradise. Its produce has given rise to Italy's "norcineria" tradition of meat-curing, using methods that originated in the 1300s.
Nursia, Umbria —
It's less popular with tourists than its Umbrian rivals Perugia and Assisi, but unlike its sister towns, Nursia is a pork paradise. Its produce has given rise to Italy's "norcineria" tradition of meat-curing, using methods that originated in the 1300s.
Courtesy Enit
You'll find all sorts of salami, sausages and wild boar hams hanging outside shops and in the middle of medieval piazzas.
Sausage selection —
You'll find all sorts of salami, sausages and wild boar hams hanging outside shops and in the middle of medieval piazzas.
Courtesy Enit
This picturesque medieval town at the foot of Mount Etna is home to some of the world's best granita -- a slushy and ice-cream hybrid that Sicilians call their own.
Randazzo, Sicily —
This picturesque medieval town at the foot of Mount Etna is home to some of the world's best granita -- a slushy and ice-cream hybrid that Sicilians call their own.
Salvatore Farina
In Randazzo, granita is a dense mixture of sugar and water, whisked with pistachio, toasted almonds and seasonal fruit, then served with a brioche bun. It's not even considered a dessert -- it's eaten at lunchtime.
Lunch —
In Randazzo, granita is a dense mixture of sugar and water, whisked with pistachio, toasted almonds and seasonal fruit, then served with a brioche bun. It's not even considered a dessert -- it's eaten at lunchtime.
Salvatore Farina
This quiet Mediterranean island region comes alive in the wintertime, when Cortes Apertas ("Open Courtyards") sees stables and ancient granite-and-turf taverns open to offer crazily good wine, ham and cheese.
Orgosolo, Sardinia —
This quiet Mediterranean island region comes alive in the wintertime, when Cortes Apertas ("Open Courtyards") sees stables and ancient granite-and-turf taverns open to offer crazily good wine, ham and cheese.
Courtesy Regione Sardegna
A gruesome local creation in Orgosolo is "porceddu," a baby pig roasted, dipped in blood, then coated in honey.
Pig in honey —
A gruesome local creation in Orgosolo is "porceddu," a baby pig roasted, dipped in blood, then coated in honey.
Courtesy Regione Sardegna
Once abandoned, this remote Umbrian village has been revived as a hotel dedicated to culinary pleasures. Exquisite meals to rival Michelin-starred restaurants blend into each other as guests are laden with food.
Borgo di Carpiano, Umbria —
Once abandoned, this remote Umbrian village has been revived as a hotel dedicated to culinary pleasures. Exquisite meals to rival Michelin-starred restaurants blend into each other as guests are laden with food.
Silvia Marchetti
Guests of Borgo di Carpiano are served cocktails, wines and digestifs before and after each meal, and it all takes place in a converted crypt.
The crypt —
Guests of Borgo di Carpiano are served cocktails, wines and digestifs before and after each meal, and it all takes place in a converted crypt.
Silvia Marchetti
It may be hot and dusty, but this southern corner of Sicily has earned the nickname Little Switzerland on account of its renowned local chocolate makers.
Modica, Sicily —
It may be hot and dusty, but this southern corner of Sicily has earned the nickname Little Switzerland on account of its renowned local chocolate makers.
Courtesy Caffe dell'Arte
What makes Modica chocolate so special is that it's been made by hand using the same processes invented by the Aztecs. The slightly salty chocolate contains hard sugar that give it bite.
Aztec approved —
What makes Modica chocolate so special is that it's been made by hand using the same processes invented by the Aztecs. The slightly salty chocolate contains hard sugar that give it bite.
Courtesy Caffe dell'Arte