Italy can be considered a gastronomic center of Europe and the whole world. According to Sert, the history of traditional Italian cuisines has been developed by the significant influence of Ancient Greek, Romans, Arabs, Austrians, and many other nations which invaded the country (50). Italy has saved the best traditions of influencers and adjusted them to their unique gastronomic traditions. The country’s geographical location allows people to grow high-quality products like wheat, olives, tomatoes, oranges, and lemons. Italians have formed a unique relationship with food and pay extra attention to farming and cattle breeding to receive a favorable harvest. Italian citizens understand how to value their everyday meals, and this attitude made Italy famous for ordinary dishes like pasta and pizza as people included their love in the cooking process. Nevertheless, different regions of Italy have specific cuisines that make cities popular for tourist and gastronomic traveling. This paper will show the uniqueness of the Lazio-Rome area of Italy and offer the main dishes of the region, which attract both Italian citizens and people from other countries.
Lazio-Rome is geographically located in the center of Italy, but historically it is the northern part of the country. This region is one of the famous traveling destinations as it is the capital of Italy. The government managed to protect many historical places these days and allowed people to develop small farming businesses to show the strong side of the country and attract more gastronomic travelers. Lazio-Rome was greatly influenced by the north and south parts of the country, and the traditional cuisines of the capital of Italy are a mixture of two geographical locations (Gowers 109). Throughout history, the area stayed under the control of different countries, and the development of national food has been influenced significantly in comparison with the more distant locations of the country. For example, Greeks taught Italians to grow olive trees and make high-quality olive oil which has become one of the best in the world (Sert 52). However, the development of food traditions has negatively influenced the northern tribes who tried to make fatty meat and unbalanced products popular in Lazio-Rome.
The capital of Italy is famous for Pasta alla Carbonara. These days, the dish is considered one of the most popular meals in Italian restaurants worldwide. This type of pasta was invented after the Second World War when soldiers had only pasta and eggs (Gowers 105). Pasta all’Amatriciana is a gastronomic tradition of Amatrice, a small province of the Lazio region. This type of pasta has become famous for its easy recipe and short cooking time. Fettuccine ai Funghi Porcini is a typical Lazio-Rome dish made of homemade pasta called tagliatelle, which was originally invented in this region of Italy (Fine Dining Lovers). Porchetta is famous in the Lazio region as, in ancient times Latino population greatly influenced the development of traditional Italian food. A variety of spices in meals affects the cooking of the dish in every Italian family. Abbacchio alla Romana is a common example of the poor impact of the northern part of the world due to the low-quality meat (Fined Dining Lovers). However, when Italians started growing their lamb, the meal became famous internationally.
The northern location of Lazio-Rome suggests to gastronomic tourists a variety of cuisines that includes products from this geographical location. For instance, Pesto alla Genovese is famous in the north part of the country as high-quality basil is grown in this area (Fine Dining Lovers). Due to the bordering with such countries as Austria and Slovenia, Cotechino with lentils is famous in the northern part of Italy. This meal includes different types of meat and has many fatty ingredients common in neighboring countries. Risotto alla Milanese allowed citizens of Lazio-Roma to experiment with risotto rice and adjust the cooking technology of this meal from Milan. Another famous Italian cuisine invented in the country’s north part is tiramisu. This region is famous for its high-quality coffee, which is crucial in the tiramisu cooking process. Italians love this dessert, and it can be found in many restaurants in the country and abroad.
The dishes in the northern part of Italy differ significantly from the southern area as people prefer to cook meals using fresh and self-grown products to avoid poor-quality results. Compared to the northern regions of Italy, the southern part of the country uses seafood more often than products of land production (Gowers 109). The food traditions are distinct throughout the country, and gastronomic travelers usually take these differences into consideration. For instance, Campania spaghetti is usually cooked with octopus, cuttlefish, squid, and mussels. These products are fresh in southern Italy, where fishing is one of the most common industries. This area is not only famous for sea products but also for dishes made of fruits. For instance, limoncello is famous in Sicily as this region has favorable weather conditions for growing fruits and vegetables (Fine Dining Lovers). Italians are professionals in growing olive trees, and this type of farming is common in both the north and south areas of the country. Olive oil is actively used by Italians in many traditional dishes as well.
In conclusion, Italy provides tourists and its citizens with various traditional meals that make the country unique. The histories of many recipes make people showcase how much Italians value their traditional food. Individuals in this country pay attention to local farming and grown products, and they try to cook high-quality food made of home-grown produce goods purchased from local farms. Consequently, Italy is one of the best gastronomic destinations due to the variety of dishes in different geographical regions.
Works Cited
Fine Dining Lovers. “Flavours of Italy: A Map of Traditional Italian Food.” Fine Dining Lovers, 2016.
Gowers, Emily. “Ancient Rome as Melting Pot: Cooking Goes Global.” National Taiwan University, no. 45, 2021, pp. 103-116.
Sert, Ayse Nevin. “Italian Cuisine: Characteristics and Effects.” Journal of Business Management and Economic Research, vol. 1, no. 1., 2017, pp. 49-57.