ABOUT GIADA DE LAURENTIIS

Calabria is the home of big, bold flavors. The sun-soaked region lies in the toe of Italy’s boot, near its southernmost end. Flanked by crystal-blue seas, it has more than 500 miles of coastline, many of which are covered by gorgeous, not-too-crowded beaches. Calabria sees more than 300 days of sweltering Mediterranean sunshine every year. That heat gets converted to serious spice in its famous chili peppers, which were introduced to the region by Spanish traders in the 16th century.

Today, every Italian knows that Calabrian chilis are the best in the world. You can celebrate those spicy peppers at the annual peperoncino festival in the town of Diamante, where you’ll find chili-themed singing and dancing in the streets—and lots of eating, of course! Chili-spiked soppressata and spreadable ‘nduja are two iconically spicy Calabrian salumi that are DOP protected—meaning they’re so popular that the name can only be used by products made according to strict tradition in the region. The picturesque mountaintop town of Tropea is also home to a type of red onion known locally as la Regina Rossa (“the red queen”) that’s so sweet you can eat it raw, like an apple!

Campania is where pizza comes from! Known for its ancient ruins and dramatic coastline, it is the most visited Italian region, largely due to the iconic Mt. Vesuvius and the Amalfi coast, home to pastel-hued towns nestled between cliffs and the sea. Campania’s capital, Napoli (Naples in English), is the birthplace of pizza. In 1889, Neapolitan pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito invented the Margherita pizza to honor Margherita of Savoy, the queen consort of Italy. Tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil represent the red, white, and green colors of the Italian flag. 

Small towns outside Napoli like Gragnano and Torre Annunziata have been home to artisan pasta manufacturers since the early 1900s, when the first bronze die pasta machines were invented. Today, artisan pasta is still made here from minimally processed semolina flour and air-dried in the cool, salt-tinged breezes that blow in from the Mediterranean Sea. Over on the Amalfi coast, locals make use of the delicious bounty of the sea, and classic dishes like the fritto misto fried appetizer and linguine allo scoglio, a seafood pasta, feature whatever was caught that day: squid, mussels, shrimp, redfish, sea bream, and more.

Best known as the home region of Rome, the country’s capital and its most populous city, Lazio is the ancient heart of Italy, with a culinary heritage that spans millennia. From its time as the seat of the Roman empire, Lazio has been a melting pot of cultures from across Europe, North Africa, and beyond, a sophisticated center for business, culture, and art. We have the region to thank for some of our favorite pasta plates: Roman trattorias are the originators of world-famous dishes like carbonara, amatriciana, and cacio e pepe.

While the region is an agricultural hub for many crops, there’s no question about its most famous product: artichokes. While the spiky vegetable was first cultivated in Italy on the island of Sicily, a local variety found its greatest popularity here, in the coastal plains outside Rome. The carciofi romanesco is rounder, with more tender, edible leaves than other varieties. Roman artichokes are commonly prepared either stuffed with herbs and garlic and slowly braised, known as carciofi alla Romana, or deep-fried as the tasty street snack carciofi
alla giudia.

From the beauty of pristine Lake Como to the bustling center of Milan, Lombardy is an enticing land of contrasts. The region sits at the northern edge of Italy, bordering Switzerland and the majestic Alps, and Lombardy’s rich history as a center of power gives this region a culinary history like no other. The capital, Milan, is synonymous with haute couture—it’s home to world famous fashion brands like Gucci, Prada, and Dolce & Gabbana but also with dishes like the luxuriously saffron-tinted risotto Milanese.

In the Middle Ages, Lombardy’s position at the base of Europe made it a convenient location for trade. This meant a flow of unusual ingredients would come through; that’s how saffron, an expensive, highly prized spice from Spain and the Middle East, came to be so popular here that it became the base of risotto Milanese. Other well-known dishes have their origins in the fertile plains of the region’s Po Valley. Considered Italy’s rice center, delicious arborio, carnaroli, and other rice varieties are grown here for risottos and timbales. The braised veal dish osso buco also comes from Lombardy, whose flatlands are perfect grazing grounds for cattle and thus have a rich tradition of hearty meat preparations.

Home to decadent specialties including white truffles, Barolo wine, and hazelnuts, Piedmont in northwest Italy might just be the gourmet capital (a big achievement for a country as rich in culinary delights as Italy!). The region’s most prized food is the ultra-rare white truffle, which only grows in hills around Alba. Known as the Alba truffle, it’s beloved for its deeply pungent, savory flavor that’s sometimes likened to aged cheese. The local truffle harvest also includes sweet, nutty summer truffles and earthy black winter truffles. Skilled truffle hunters forage with their well-trained dogs, who sniff among the roots of oak and chestnut trees to find the precious tubers.

Chocolate is a major industry in Piedmont, where a high concentration of artisan chocolatiers have honed their craft. Combine that with another local ingredient you’ll find in abundance—the plump, flavorful hazelnuts that grow in the Langhe mountains—and you’ve got gianduja, or everyone’s favorite hazelnut-infused chocolate spread. From truffle infused pasta to jams, wine jellies, and plenty of chocolate, we’ve collected the best of Piedmont’s artisanal bounty for you.

Life moves a little more slowly in Puglia, the southern region of Italy that resides at the heel of the country’s boot. Long a well kept secret, it’s becoming a popular vacation destination for Italians and others from around Europe who want to experience the Italian philosophy of il dolce far niente—the sweetness of doing nothing. Seafood is a major part of Puglian cuisine the region is surrounded by water! Classic Puglian dishes include tiella, a paella-like dish of rice and potatoes slow-cooked with mussels in a clay vessel, and crudo Barese, raw fish eaten sashimi-style fresh from the waters.

Puglia’s southern heat fuels their popular crops: figs, tomatoes, and olives, all infused with concentrated flavor that can only come from long hours under the Mediterranean sun. More than 60 million olive trees thrive in Puglia, with more than 50 distinct varieties, each resulting in its own unique oil. There’s a Puglian olive oil for every palate, from fruity and mild to peppery and spicy. Puglia is also a leader in the organic movement in Italy, with more than 1,100 square miles of organic farmland.

Sardinia is Italy’s second largest island after Sicily, and it has a unique culture that blends influences from around the Mediterranean. It’s known for gorgeous beaches, rare bitter honey, wild individuality, and stunning ancient ruins. Because of its location in the Mediterranean, Sardinia has been home to several civilizations over the centuries, from the Romans to the Vandals, Austrians, and Spanish. That melting pot led to its most famous food, fregola. Similar to North African couscous, the small grains of fregola are made by rolling semolina dough until it forms small beads. They’re dried and then toasted, giving fregola a unique, nutty flavor that’s all its own.

Sardinia is especially suited to olive cultivation and oil production, with a temperate climate cooled by Mediterranean breezes. Research has found that Sardinia is one of the globe’s five Blue Zones, regions where people live the longest—10 times as many Sardinians live to the age of 100 as Americans. We can’t say it’s purely because of the olive oil, but it certainly doesn’t hurt! Sardinian olive oil's herbal, artichoke-like character is a testament to its nutrient packed goodness.

With its volcanic landscape, gorgeous mountains, and rich history, Sicily is at once otherworldly and quintessentially Italian. The largest Italian island found just off the toe of the boot, Sicily has been home to several world cultures, including Greek, Spanish, and Arab—the latter brought over delicacies like pistachios, almonds, saffron, and rice. In the capital city of Palermo, you’ll find a vibrant street food culture with fried treats like cannoli and arancini. Also called arancina in the local dialect, these fried rice balls stuffed with meat and vegetables were first eaten in the 10th century and became popular with travelers as they could be carried long distances.

Crops including olives, tomatoes, eggplants, and artichokes thrive in Sicily’s intense summer heat. Artichokes are enjoyed in a bright green spring stew called
fritedda alongside fava beans, and eggplants are used in the traditional sweet-and-sour relish called caponata. Olive oil from the small mountaintop town of Chiaramonte Gulfi is protected with DOP certification, the highest level of recognition granted to the best regional Italian foods. Known as Il Balcone di Sicilia (the Balcony of Sicily), Chiaramonte Gulfi offers vast sweeping vistas overlooking centuries-old olive orchards and vineyards.

In the far northeast of Italy lies the quirky region of Trentino-Alto Adige. Formerly part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, German is a co-official language here, and there are picturesque alpine villages where you can ski up to a lodge for fondue and cured meat alongside classic Italian lakeside towns. In the capital Trento, taste local delicacies like the bread dumplings canederli and strangolapreti, German influenced spaetzle, and more than 200 varieties of cheese, primarily from cow’s and sheep’s milk.

Alto Adige’s crisp, flavorful white wines are internationally famous. The combination of Mediterranean soil and Alpine weather creates a terroir that imparts minerality and depth. Indigenous grapes such as lagrein and schiava thrive here, as do favorites like pinot grigio and chardonnay. An elegant local sparkling wine, Trentodoc, is made using the classic Champagne method. This pristine mountain territory also brings us cheese, apples, and gluten-free pastas that are virtually indistinguishable from their wheat-based cousins.

With a rich history as a center of art and architecture, Tuscany was the “cradle of the Renaissance,” but its natural beauty is equally breathtaking, from the rugged Apennine Mountains to Chianti’s olive groves and vineyards. The gently rolling hills of Tuscan wine country are dotted with rustic villas and sun-warmed vineyards. In addition to Chianti wine, full bodied reds such as Montepulciano and Montalcino are produced here. And where grapes grow, so do olives! Tuscan olive oils are known for their gentle bitterness and green, herbal flavors. One of the region’s most famous dishes is fettunta, a local pane Toscano bread simply toasted over wood fire and drizzled with fresh pressed extra-virgin olive oil, then rubbed with a garlic clove.

Tuscan artistry isn’t limited to painters and sculptors. Thanks to some ancient animal breeds and dedicated local practitioners, Tuscan butchery is also world renowned. Local Chianina cows are celebrated in the Florence favorite bistecca alla Fiorentina, while Cinta Senese pigs are used for finocchiona salami or porchetta. Full-flavored condiments like Tuscan mostarda are typical to complement the rich meat. Enjoy a Tuscan feast for the senses with olive oils, condiments, and more from Giadzy.

There’s so much more to the northwestern Veneto region than just its famous capital city, Venice, and its picturesque canals. It’s home to prosecco and the bitter vegetable radicchio and was a major producer of the world’s salt, harvested from the sea in shallow plains in the city of Chioggia. The region also churns out high-performance flours, many of which are stone-ground for their inimitable texture and flavor. Because the fertile rice plains of the Po Valley run through the Veneto, risotto and polenta are more popular here than pasta.

In Verona, the region’s largest city and a UNESCO world heritage site, a Roman-era pink limestone amphitheater stands side-by-side with medieval fortresses and Renaissance-era gardens. The town was also the backdrop for William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. Here, you’ll find the specialty dish is risotto all’Amarone, made with red Amarone wine from Valpolicella that gives it a striking reddish-purple color, and often featuring local radicchio. Celebrated cheeses produced here include nutty Monte Veronese and long-aged Piave.