<strong>Piled high: </strong>Visit Tropea during onion season and you'll find stalls selling them on every corner.
Piled high: Visit Tropea during onion season and you'll find stalls selling them on every corner.
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<strong>Don't take it as red: </strong>The onions are so valuable that there's a fake onion market.
Don't take it as red: The onions are so valuable that there's a fake onion market.
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<strong>In season: </strong>In Tropea, onion season is from January to May.
In season: In Tropea, onion season is from January to May.
Courtesy Osteria Cipolla Rossa Tropea
<strong>Tasty treats: </strong>Onions are top of the menu in local restaurants, with dishes like this stuffed onion.
Tasty treats: Onions are top of the menu in local restaurants, with dishes like this stuffed onion.
Courtesy Osteria Cipolla Rossa Tropea
<strong>Limited edition:</strong> The onions are grown along a 60-mile strip of Calabria.
Limited edition: The onions are grown along a 60-mile strip of Calabria.
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<strong>Colorful:</strong> Braids of onions and chilli peppers are everywhere in Tropea.
Colorful: Braids of onions and chilli peppers are everywhere in Tropea.
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<strong>Can't get enough: </strong>Romana Schiariti includes onions in everything she cooks.
Can't get enough: Romana Schiariti includes onions in everything she cooks.
Courtesy Osteria Cipolla Rossa Tropea
<strong>Two-tier:</strong> The early cipollotti are whiter and longer, while the real red onions are rounder and brighter.
Two-tier: The early cipollotti are whiter and longer, while the real red onions are rounder and brighter.
<strong>The white stuff: </strong>Schiariti stuffs cipollotti (young cipolle) with vegetables, too.
The white stuff: Schiariti stuffs cipollotti (young cipolle) with vegetables, too.
Courtesy Osteria Cipolla Rossa Tropea
<strong>Long-time love: </strong>Italians love the cipolle rosse so much that they're known as 'queen of onions.'
Long-time love: Italians love the cipolle rosse so much that they're known as 'queen of onions.'
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<strong>No tears: </strong>As Stanley Tucci found out, you can eat the onions raw -- and are less likely to cry.
No tears: As Stanley Tucci found out, you can eat the onions raw -- and are less likely to cry.
<strong>Distant origins: </strong>It's thought that the onions were brought to Calabria 4,000 years ago by Phoenicians.
Distant origins: It's thought that the onions were brought to Calabria 4,000 years ago by Phoenicians.
Nico Tondini/REDA&CO/Universal Images Group/Getty Images