Episode #248: Mangia! How to Eat Your Way Through Italy with Maria Pasquale

This article may contain compensated links. See our full disclosure here

Have questions about your trip to Italy? Ask our Zia our online travel assistant for instant answers - click here to try

Listen to “248. Mangia! How to Eat Your Way Through Italy with Maria Pasquale” on Spreaker.

LISTEN ON APPLE LISTEN ON SPOTIFY DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT

follow us

Dining in Italy is an experience that extends far beyond pizza and pasta. Each region boasts its own unique flavors, traditions, and dishes, creating a vibrant culinary landscape that’s as diverse as the country itself. From bustling food festivals to intimate family gatherings, Italians celebrate food as a way of life – sharing not only delicious meals but also the joy of time spent together. Here, every dish tells a story, and every meal is a celebration of tradition, community, and the simple pleasure of eating well and with loved ones.

Summary

In this episode, we’re diving into Italy’s rich culinary heritage with Maria Pasquale, a food and travel journalist from Australia, who has lived in Rome for over 13 years and has been visiting Italy since she was a child. We explore what, despite the regional differences, are common threads that run across Italy’s food culture – from family feasts to local food festivals. Maria shares some of the unique culinary traditions of various Italian regions, ahead of the release of her book Mangia: How to Eat Your Way Through Italy, on that very subject. 

What you’ll learn in this episode

  • Recommended destinations for winter culinary experiences are the Dolomites (spas and strudels), Valle d’Aosta (cheese and fondue) and Bologna and Parma – great for food tours and cooking classes
  • In summer, enjoying eating pasta on a boat and celebrating the Ferragosto festival are food highlights
  • Sagre are Italian food festivals celebrating specific produce like chestnuts, figs, beer and cheese – of note is the pistachio festival in Bronte, Sicily. Often not advertised online, keep an eye out for local posters and ask your hosts
  • Beyond Pizza and Pasta – regional differences offer a huge variety, from meat, game, and foraged foods in mountainous locations, to seafood on the coast, to the prevalence of vegetable dishes in Basilicata and the bitter green salads of Rome
  • Traditional Italian beverages include Bicerin from Piedmont and the citrus-flavored drinks from Southern Italy – Katy and family are fans of trying the local Chinotto options
  • Conviviality is part of the Italian food experience – spending time together and sharing meals is the uniting aspect of Italian culture despite regional differences
  • There are unique culinary experiences to be had throughout Italy, from a cooking class near Matera at the Coppola family establishment, to truffle hunting in Piedmont, to luxury eco-resorts in Sardinia, making cheese with local shepherds
  • Beware of Social Media information – viral TikTok trends may not represent the real Italy
  • Maria Pasquale’s “Mangia” book highlights regional foods and festivals – inspired by her lifelong travels through Italy
  • . Release dates of October 29 in Australia, March 2025 internationally
  • The book is a combination of coffee table style with a travel-sized format and has an emphasis on sensory engagement through photos and informative writing

Timeline Overview

  • 06:43 The prevalence and importance of Italian pride, tradition, legacy; diverse regional cuisines
  • 08:20 Italian cuisine offers more than pizza and pasta – culinary experiences in Italy are unforgettable adventures
  • 15:08 Sardinia: Shepherd culture, luxury, and immersive experiences
  • 17:55 Truffle hunting creates memorable, unique food experiences
  • 24:00 Sagre focus on single-produce festivals year-round
  • 27:29 Italian drinks reflect rich cultural diversity – with different flavored herbal, carbonated drinks popular across Southern Italy
  • 31:24 Maria’s book, Mangia: How to Eat Your Way Around Italy is out October 29

About our guest – Maria Pasquale

Born to Italian parents in Melbourne, Maria always knew Italy was her destiny. With a formal background in political science and history, she is now an award-winning food and travel writer and journalist and contributes regularly to USA Today, CNN, Condé Nast, The Telegraph, Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian. The author of I Heart Rome, How to be Italian and The Eternal City, her lifestyle blog HeartRome, has readers in over 100 countries, a social media network that exceeds 45,000 and has been featured in BBC Travel, The Sunday Times and Vogue among others. In 2021, Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper named her one of Rome’s most influential travel experts. In Rome, you’ll find her walking the streets of Trastevere, checking out the latest bar for an aperitivo or dining with friends. Maria’s fourth book Mangia will be released worldwide in March 2025 (November 2024, Aust/NZ). 

Follow Maria here

Maria’s books

Mangia: How to Eat Your Way through Italy

How to Be Italian: Eat, Drink, Dress, Travel and Love La Dolce Vita

I Heart Rome: Recipes & Stories from the Eternal City

Italian places, foods and concepts mentioned

Places

  • Valle d’Aosta  – small region in the very north of Italy near France
  • Abruzzo – region in central Italy, bordering Le Marche, Lazio and Molise. Known for the Trabocchi Coast as well as its mountains
  • Basilicata – a small region in Southern Italy best known for Matera, the cave city with only 54 people per square kilometer
  • Piedmont – Northern region bordering France
  • Dolomites – mountain peaks found in the North of Italy, forming part of the Southern Limestone Alps
  • Bologna, Parma, Modena – cities in the Emilia-Romagna region famous for their food
  • La Tavola Marche – culinary experiences and agriturismo in the Marche region
  • Sardinia – the 2nd largest Italian island after Sicily
  • Paestum – amazing ruins sites to visit when based in Sorrento or the Amalfi Coast with the area around where you can get the best buffalo mozzarella
  • Sciacca – thermal spa town in Southern Sicily
  • Bronte – town on the slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily which grows the best pistachios
  • Perugia – a medieval college city in Umbria
  • Palazzo Margherita – Coppola family (as in Francis and Sophia Ford Coppola) boutique hotel in Basilicatta 

Food / Drink

  • radicchio – also known as Italian chicory, it is a leafy vegetable with a bitter taste
  • Cicoria alla Romana – chicory is a very popular Roman side
  • contorni – side dishes. On the menu where you’ll often find the vegetable choices
  • Torta Caprese – flourless cake of chocolate and nuts
  • Tortellini in brodo – famous dish from Bologna of tortellini in broth
  • Truffles – delicacy found in various regions of Italy, but Piedmont is particularly known for the White Truffle
  • Euro Chocolate – the chocolate festival in Perugia, Umbria
  • gianduiotto –  chocolate ingots made from gianduja, individually wrapped in a gold or silver foil cover
  • bicerin – hot drink from Turin made of espresso, drinking chocolate, and milk
  • Chinotto – Italian bitter-sweet carbonated soda drink. The chinotto itself is a small citrus fruit coming to Italy from China in the 1500s. Found all over the country with different flavors

Words / Concepts

  • convivialità – conviviality/merriment – the art of spending time together
  • Perfume: The story of a murderer – novel set in 18th century France and around the world of Perfume and sense of smell
  • Ferragosto – yearly celebrations and public holiday in Italy on 15th August

Related content on Untold Italy

Podcasts

 

Articles

Plan your Italian adventures with Untold Italy

If you’re enjoying the podcast and are excited about going to Italy but are overwhelmed by all the options, why not hire our Italy travel experts to help you build your dream trip? Our Italy Trip Planning services will get you from dreaming to booking the trip that suits you and your travel companions best – whether it’s a week in Tuscany, visiting the iconic Italian cities or an off-the-beaten-path adventure in Sicily > learn more.

THE BEST!

If you want a curated Italian adventure, this is your solution. We hired Tyla and the Untold Italy crew to put together our itinerary through Tuscany. We had the vacation of a lifetime! – Jamey Ice (Google) –  read more reviews.

Untold Italy Tours

Founded in 2022, our small group tour company takes curious travelers on multi-day adventures to Italy’s lesser-known regions and to secret spots in places that are better known. Departing in Spring and Fall/Autumn, each trip focuses on food and wine, local traditions and uncovering the Italy you’ve always dreamed of > learn more.

Planning a trip to Italy?

We love travel in Italy and sharing our knowledge. Read our popular Italy trip planning guide or join our FREE Italy Travel Planning Community. Our 150,000+ members are happy to answer questions about your itinerary, how to get from place to place, the best places to stay and fun things to do.

Sign up for our news and podcast updates where we share mini guides, tips, exclusive deals and more and we'll send you our Italy Trip Planning Checklist to say grazie! >> click here to subscribe

Disclosure: Untold Italy assists our readers with carefully chosen product and services recommendations that help make travel easier and more fun. If you click through and make a purchase on many of these items we may earn a commission. All opinions are our own – please visit our disclosure page for more information.

Please share if you found this article useful