Italian cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisineDavid 1988, Introduction, pp. 101–103 consisting of the ingredients, recipes, and cooking techniques developed in Italy since Roman times, and later spread around the world together with waves of Italian diaspora. Significant changes occurred with the colonization of the Americas and the consequent introduction of potatoes, tomatoes, capsicums, and maize, as well as sugar beet—the latter introduced in quantity in the 18th century. Italian cuisine is one of the best-known and most widely appreciated worldwide.For example, in 2019, the American network CNN ranked first in a ranking of the best cuisines in the world; see: According to a survey conducted by the British market analysis company YouGov, out of 24 countries, Italian cuisine was the most internationally appreciated gastronomy with 84% of total preferences; see: In 2025, Italian cuisine was listed as intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO.
The cuisine includes deeply rooted countrywide traditions as well as diverse regional dishes. Many dishes that were once regional have proliferated with variations throughout the country. Italian cuisine is one of the most popular and copied around the world. Italian cuisine has left a significant influence on several other cuisines around the world, particularly in East Africa, such as Italian Eritrean cuisine, and in the United States in the form of Italian-American cuisine.
A key characteristic of Italian cuisine is its simplicity, with many dishes made up of few ingredients, and therefore Italian cooks often rely on the quality of the ingredients, rather than the complexity of preparation. Italian cuisine generated an estimated €251 billion in global foodservice revenue in 2024, according to Deloitte. Over the centuries, many popular dishes and recipes have often been created by ordinary people more so than by chefs, which is why many Italian recipes are suitable for home and daily cooking, respecting regional specificities, privileging only raw materials and ingredients from the region of origin of the dish and preserving its seasonality.
The Mediterranean diet forms the basis of Italian cuisine, rich in pasta, fish, fruits, and vegetables.The Silver Spoon, , 1997 ed. Cheese, cold cuts, and wine are central to Italian cuisine, and, along with pizza and coffee (especially espresso), form part of Italian gastronomic culture. Desserts have a long tradition of merging local flavours such as citrus fruits, pistachio, and almonds with sweet cheeses such as mascarpone and ricotta or exotic tastes as cocoa, vanilla, and cinnamon. Gelato, tiramisu, and cassata are among the most famous examples of Italian desserts, cakes, and patisserie. Italian cuisine relies heavily on traditional products; the country has a large number of traditional specialities protected under EU law. Italy is the world's largest producer of wine, as well as the country with the widest variety of indigenous grapevine varieties in the world.
History
Italian cuisine has developed over the centuries. Although the country known as Italy did not unite until the 19th century, the cuisine can claim traceable roots as far back as the 4th century BC. The foundation of Italian cuisine dates back to ancient Rome, where elaborate preparations can be found documented in a cookbook ().
However, the fall of the Roman Empire significantly changed Italian cooking, when different cities began to separate and form their own traditions based on climate, local agriculture and trade connections. Through the centuries, neighbouring regions, conquerors, high-profile chefs, political upheaval, and the discovery of the New World have influenced its development. Many different types of bread and pasta were made, and there was a variation in cooking techniques and preparation.
Trade, the location on the Silk Road, and its routes to Asia also influenced the local development of special dishes. Due to the climatic conditions and the different proximity to the sea, different basic foods and spices were available from region to region. Regional cuisine is represented by some of the major cities in Italy. For example, Milan (in the north of Italy) is known for risottos, Trieste (in the northeast of Italy) is known for multicultural food, Bologna (in the centre of Italy) is known for its tortellini, and Naples (in the south of Italy) is famous for its pizzas. There is evidence of the Etruscans making pasta in Italy during the 4th century BC.
Antiquity
The first known Italian food writer was a Greek Sicilian named Archestratus from Syracuse in the 4th century BC. He wrote a poem that spoke of using "top quality and seasonal" ingredients. He said that flavours should not be masked by spices, herbs or other seasonings. He placed importance on simple preparation of fish.
Simplicity was abandoned and replaced by a culture of gastronomy as the Roman Empire developed. By the time was published in the 1st century AD, it contained 470 recipes calling for heavy use of spices and herbs. The Romans employed Greek bakers to produce breads and imported cheeses from Sicily, as the Sicilians had a reputation as the best cheesemakers. The Romans reared goats for butchering, and grew artichokes and leeks.
Some foods considered traditional were imported to Italy from foreign countries during the Roman era. This includes the jujube (Italian: ), which is celebrated as a regional cuisine in Arquà Petrarca. The Romans also imported cherries, apricots, and peaches.
Middle Ages
Arabs conquered Sicily in the 9th century, introducing spinach, almonds, and rice. They also brought with them foods from foreign lands that are celebrated as traditional Italian foods: citrus fruits, artichokes, chickpeas, pistachios, sugarcane, aubergines, and durum wheat, which is used to make pasta. During the 12th century, a Norman king surveyed Sicily and saw people making long strings made from flour and water called atriya, which eventually became , a term still used for spaghetti in southern Italy. Normans also introduced the casserole, salted cod (Italian: ), and stockfish, all of which remain popular.
Food preservation was either chemical or physical, as refrigeration did not exist. Meats and fish were smoked, dried or kept on ice. Brine and salt were used to pickle items such as herring, and to cure pork. Root vegetables were preserved in brine after they had been parboiled. Other means of preservation included oil, vinegar, or immersing meat in congealed, rendered fat. For preserving fruits, liquor, honey, and sugar were used.
Milan is home to the oldest restaurant in Italy and the second in Europe, the Antica trattoria Bagutto, which has existed since at least 1284. The oldest Italian book on cuisine is the 13th century (Cookbook) written in Naples. Dishes include "Roman-style" cabbage (), which were "small leaves" prepared in the "Campanian manner", a bean dish from the Marca di Trevisio, a , , dishes similar to dishes the modern day. Two other books from the 14th century include recipes for Roman , Lasagna pie, and call for the use of salt from Sardinia or Chioggia.
In the 15th century, Maestro Martino was chef to the Patriarch of Aquileia at the Vatican. His Libro de arte coquinaria (Culinary art book) describes a more refined cuisine. His book contains a recipe for , made by wrapping dough around a thin iron rod to dry in the sun. The macaroni was cooked in capon stock flavoured with saffron, displaying Persian influences. Martino noted the avoidance of excessive spices in favour of fresh herbs. The Roman recipes include (air-dried salami) and cabbage dishes. His Florentine dishes include eggs with , and Genoese recipes such as , macaroni, squash, mushrooms, and spinach pie with onions.
Martino's text was included in a 1475 book by Bartolomeo Platina printed in Venice entitled (On Honest Pleasure and Good Health). Platina puts Martino's Libro in a regional context, writing about perch from Lake Maggiore, sardines from Lake Garda, grayling from Adda, hens from Padua, olives from Bologna and Piceno, turbot from Ravenna, rudd from Lake Trasimeno, carrots from Viterbo, bass from the Tiber, and shad from Lake Albano, snails from Rieti, figs from Tuscolo, grapes from Narni, oil from Cassino, oranges from Naples, and eels from Campania. Grains from Lombardy and Campania are mentioned as is honey from Sicily and Taranto. Wine from the Ligurian coast, Greco from Tuscany and San Severino, and Trebbiano from Tuscany and Piceno are also mentioned in the book.
Early modern era
The courts of Florence, Rome, Venice, and Ferrara were central to the cuisine. Cristoforo di Messisbugo, steward to Ippolito d'Este, published (Banquets Compositions of Food) in 1549. Messisbugo gives recipes for pies and tarts (containing 124 recipes with various fillings). The work emphasises the use of Eastern spices and sugar.
In 1570, Bartolomeo Scappi, personal chef to Pope Pius V, wrote his (Work) in five volumes, giving a comprehensive view of Italian cooking of that period. It contains over 1,000 recipes, with information on banquets including displays and menus as well as illustrations of kitchen and table utensils. This book differs from most books written for the royal courts in its preference for domestic animals and courtyard birds rather than game meat.
Recipes include lesser cuts of meats such as tongue, head, and shoulder. The third volume has recipes for fish in Lent. These fish recipes are simple, including poaching, broiling, grilling, and frying after marination.
Particular attention is given to seasons and places where fish should be caught. The final volume includes pies, tarts, fritters, and a recipe for a sweet Neapolitan pizza (not the current savoury version, as tomatoes had not yet been introduced to Italy). However, such items from the New World as corn (maize) and turkey are included. Eventually, through the Columbian exchange, Italian cuisine would also adopt not just tomatoes as a key flavour, but also beans, pumpkins, courgette, and peppers, all of which came from the Americas during the last few hundred years.
In the first decade of the 17th century, Giacomo Castelvetro wrote , translated into English by Gillian Riley. Originally from Modena, Castelvetro moved to England because he was a Protestant. The book lists Italian vegetables and fruits along with their preparation. He featured vegetables as a central part of the meal, not just as accompaniments. Castelvetro favoured simmering vegetables in salted water and serving them warm or cold with olive oil, salt, freshly ground pepper, lemon juice, verjus or orange juice. He also suggested roasting vegetables wrapped in damp paper over charcoal or embers with a drizzle of olive oil. Castelvetro's book is separated into seasons with hop shoots in the spring and truffles in the winter, detailing the use of pigs in the search for truffles.
In 1662, Bartolomeo Stefani, chef to the Duchy of Mantua, published (The Art of Well Cooking). He was the first to offer a section on (ordinary food). The book described a banquet given by Duke Charles for Queen Christina of Sweden, with details of the food and table settings for each guest, including a knife, fork, spoon, glass, a plate (instead of the bowls more often used), and a napkin.
Other books from this time, such as Galatheo (Etiquette) by Giovanni della Casa, tell how (waiters) should manage themselves while serving their guests. Waiters should not scratch their heads or other parts of themselves, or spit, sniff, cough or sneeze while serving diners. The book also told diners not to use their fingers while eating and not to wipe sweat with their napkin.
Modern era