Italy Food & Wine Travel Guide

Ratings of Zicasso's Service

Italy food and wine celebrates culture and heritage through fabulous flavors. By sipping celebrated vines in the north or learning world-renowned recipes in the south, indulging in intricate family favorites found in a small coastal village or basking in bold aromas that rise from vintages produced in medieval hillside towns, you can experience how food and wine in Italy is a transformative experience. Our travel guide gives you better insights into how to customize your trip to uncover ancient dishes or enjoy contemporary wine-productions. When you are ready to book, speak with a local travel specialist who understands how to craft your mouthwatering trip.

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Vineyards in autumn, Langhe, Piedmont
Best Time to Visit Italy for a Wine Tour
Italian wines can be enjoyed year-round, but the best time to visit Italy for a wine tour depends on what kind of experience you want. While winter months like January and February offer a peaceful and...
A couple is tasting young wine at one of the wineries in Italy, Umbria region
Top 4 Wine-Tasting Experiences in Italy
From wine tasting in Chianti towns to exploring Sicilian cellars or pairing wines with Venetian delicacies, you can enjoy the top wine-tasting experiences in Italy as you travel from one region to another....
Types of Italian pasta
The Top 10 Italian Pastas to Savor in Italy on Vacation
Italy is renowned for its culinary traditions, especially when it comes to pasta. This beloved staple is woven into the fabric of Italian identity and there are an overwhelming number of shapes and flavors....
Vineyards around Panzano in Tuscany, Italy
Best Wine Regions of Italy
Wine in Italy is a culture all its own and the country’s best wine regions provide the perfect introduction to the preserved traditions and evolving techniques you can discover, sample, and enjoy when...
Three dishes of various Italian foods
Types of Italian Food by Region
The regional foods of Italy have distinct ingredients, flavors, and cooking techniques, with each destination demonstrating its heritage, and it’s here that you can discover, taste, and indulge during...
Woman holding wine glass showing the legs
Top Tips for Wine Tasting in Italy
The order in which you taste wine can have a marked effect on the aromas and flavors you find in each glass, outlining the first important hint in our top tips for wine-tasting in Italy. Mastering the...
Coppa di Parma
14 Best Italian Cured Meats to Try on Vacation
Cured meats are a culinary staple across the Italian peninsula and you can enjoy 14 of the best during your travels in Italy. The Italian term for cured meats is salumi and is differentiated from French...
Large selection of cheeses in Italian market
12 Best Italian Cheeses to Try on Vacation
This list of 12 of the best cheeses to try in Italy unveils their diversity, providing an explanation of their particular attributes, from flavor to texture, aroma to common food pairings. The countless...
White Pidemont truffles and glass of wine with castle in the background in Piedmont, Italy
6 Best Truffle Festivals to Visit in Italy on Vacation
Every autumn, as the Italian landscape transforms into a canvas of golden and russet hues, the country's celebrated truffle season begins. Between October and November, the best truffle festivals to visit...
Best Sicilian Cheese and Street Food to Try on Vacation

Sicily is a melting pot of gastronomic heritage, found in the best Sicilian cheese and street food that you can sample during your Italy vacation.

The exceptional cuisine of Sicily uses local ingredients to create flavors for a culinary adventure featured in surprising spices or indulgent textures. Whether enjoying authentic Sicilian cheese with wine or sampling street food at stalls in popular marketplaces, the cuisine represents the island’s eclectic heritage.

The following list focuses on the best cheese and street food you will discover as you wander the streets of Sicily to find cannoli, arancini, capers, ricotta cheese, and more.

5 Best Cities in Which to Explore Southern Italian Food

Southern Italian food features the delicious Mediterranean flavors many visitors associate with the country’s traditional cuisine that you can discover in the fives best cities for southern Italian food.

Cooking is a way in which northern, central, and southern Italian regions showcase their diversity. The food of southern Italy is often referred to as Cucina Povera, with frugal cooks relying on the sea’s bounty or the hard-fought harvest from tenacious farmers.

The warm Mediterranean climate supports a history of trade and conquest, revealing distinctive characteristics of unforgettable gastronomy, from Bari to Campobasso.

3 Best Cities in Which to Explore the Food of Campania

The characteristics of Campania’s terrain provide sensational ingredients you can discover in the region’s top three culinary cities during your trip to Italy.

The region’s gastronomic history acts as a crossroads of civilizations along the Mediterranean Sea, its diverse landscape bringing life to vibrant produce found in nutrient-rich volcanic soil. The greater region of Campania has a variety of provinces that enjoy different types of cuisine.

You can celebrate the cucina povera as you uncover how the cuisine provides ultimate flavor with minimal ingredients.

3 Best Cities in Which to Explore the Food of Lazio

The three best culinary cities in Lazio demonstrate distinct elements of the local cuisine, and you can savor the regional flavors on your next trip to Italy.

The diverse landscapes spread from the seaside in the west to the eastern mountains, with the region’s rich culinary history embodied in traditions that were at the heart of Etruscan settlements, the Roman Empire, the cradle of Christianity, and the Baroque movement. The mountain slopes and plains allow farmers to cultivate unique ingredients, bringing culturally significant flavors to life.

Exploring the food of Lazio can be a fantastic lens through which to view Italian culture, whether dining in Rome or enjoying unique delicacies in Frascati.

4 Dishes to Try on Your Trip to Lazio

The four best dishes to try during your trip to Lazio reflect the customs created when Rome acted as the heart of the ancient empire. The conquered landscapes of antiquity stretched over the hills and reached the western seas to create impressive ports from which Rome could reach the hidden corners of the known world, now embodied in the gastronomic traditions that were left behind. The food of Lazio takes the shape of simple dishes with quick and easy cooking techniques based on the ideas of fresh and readily available ingredients.

The regional cuisine of Lazio is characterized by Cucina Povera, the traditions of poor cooking that embody the tastes of farmers over the centuries who used the entirety of ingredients and ingredients that were easily accessed during the changing seasons. The increased standard of living in Lazio has resulted in home and commercial chefs creating flavors with ingredients that were once unheard of outside of regional cooking. You can sample the following dishes during your next trip to Lazio.

3 Best Cities in Which to Explore the Food of Umbria

The cuisine of Umbria is all about simple yet delicious seasonal ingredients you can find during your Italian food tour.

Olive groves and flocks of sheep overtake the hills of Italy’s only region that does not border the sea or another country. The mountainous heart of Umbria abounds with medieval towns and castles that have been untouched by time and burst with gastronomic traditions. Recipes have been handed down through generations and pay homage to the region’s heritage.

From Perugia to Assisi and Orvieto, here are the best cities in Umbria for an Italian food tour highlighting the region’s signature dishes.

4 Best Cities in Which to Explore the Food of Italy's Islands

The best cities in which to explore the food of Italy’s Islands are vibrant repositories of cultural and culinary traditions. Their kitchens have been shaped by millennia of diverse influences to offer a captivating journey through history and taste. From the sun-drenched coasts to the rugged interiors, the food of these islands tells a story of adaptation, resourcefulness, and an appreciation for simple, high-quality ingredients.

The unique blend of Mediterranean heritages found on these islands, including Greek, Spanish, French, and Arab, has resulted in an astonishing array of cooking techniques and flavors. These many influences make exploring the islands’ cuisine an unforgettable experience, revealing how ancient pastoral customs and a deep connection to the land and sea have sculpted some of Italy’s most distinctive gastronomic delights. Prepare to embark on a culinary adventure that transcends mere dining, delving into the very soul of these captivating destinations.

Extraordinary travel begins with a human touch. Our destination specialists design every journey with care, insight, and personal attention. As you consider a visit to Italy’s islands for their food, use the following information as a guide before connecting with our travel experts to help you plan your trip.

3 Best Dishes to Try While on Vacation in Modena

Modena’s unique position in the Po Valley influences the soil amid the rugged foothills of the Apennine Mountains, responsible for the diversity of meats, hams, salumi, pasta, cheeses, and treasured balsamic vinegar that you can taste during your trip to Italy. Seasonal ingredients define the flavors of the Modenese cooking tradition, from growing produce to the presence of game and fish. Many of the traditional recipes popular in the province have emerged from a heritage of the peasant kitchen or small landowners that incorporates the flavor of a wealthier lifestyle that influences contemporary life.

4 Dishes to Try While on Vacation in Parma

The four dishes you can try in Parma on your Italy trip are less about satiation and more about taking pleasure in a meal, an ingredient, and a local delicacy.

Small villages in the Bronze Age gave way to Celtic and Etruscan settlements before the ancient Roman road connected the peninsula. The city became famous throughout medieval Europe as a center for great art, science, and philosophy, resulting in an influx of nobility whose tastes for a good meal refined local palates.

By focusing on regional and seasonal ingredients, home and professional chefs develop bolder, more nuanced flavors, and these are four dishes that highlight those efforts.

5 Best Delicacies from Veneto to Enjoy on an Italy Vacation

You can discover and embrace the five best dishes of Veneto as you explore the culinary landscape that encompasses mountains and lagoons, the customary richness of the Venetian Empire and the open-minded cultural influence of kingdoms from across the Mediterranean.

The region of Veneto thrives with distinguished gastronomy changing from villages in the Dolomites to towns along the coast of Lake Garda, prestigious villas looking over the Brenta Canal to the renowned banquets filling the palaces of Venice.

A wealth of culinary influences and cultural inspiration, from techniques to flavor profiles, have helped develop these 5 transformational delicacies that are unique to Veneto.

An Immersive Balsamic Vinegar Tour in Emilia-Romagna

Journey through the historic provinces of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy, where the art of traditional balsamic vinegar production has been perfected over generations. On our immersive balsamic vinegar tour in Emilia-Romagna, you will discover the centuries-old craft behind this precious condiment, known locally as "black gold."

During your luxury tour, passionate artisans who maintain this time-honored tradition will welcome you into historic vinegar houses known as acetaie. Explore the atmospheric aging rooms, where wooden barrels house vinegar through its years-long transformation from simple grape must into one of Italy's most prized culinary treasures. Learn about the process and participate in balsamic tastings that reveal the complex flavors and aromas developed over decades of aging.

Extraordinary travel begins with a human touch. Our destination specialists design every journey with care, insight, and personal attention. When considering a balsamic vinegar tour in Emilia-Romagna, use the following information as a guide to discovering the region before connecting with our travel experts to help you plan your trip.

How to Plan Your Zicasso Trip in 4 Easy Steps

Explore the world with Zicasso by working with top travel specialists who will bring your dream vacation to life. Our primary goal is to make planning, booking, and traveling easy and enjoyable.

As the most-reviewed and highest-rated luxury travel company, we are committed to delivering life-enriching custom tours that are seamless and exclusively yours. Whether you dream of creating authentic Italian pasta in Tuscany or witnessing the Great Migration across the Serengeti, we will help you design your trip of a lifetime.

Extraordinary travel begins with a human touch, and our destination specialists design every journey with care, insight, and personal attention. As you consider your next vacation, use the following information to guide you in how we work. Then, connect with our travel experts to help you plan your trip.

How to Plan Your Zicasso Trip Budget in 3 Easy Steps

Knowing your budget is an essential component of any trip-planning process. Whether the sky's the limit or you have specific parameters, a customized vacation allows for maximum flexibility, helping you prioritize and make the most of your investment.

Working with Zicasso enables you to travel confidently, knowing we rigorously vet the world’s best destination specialists. As the most-reviewed and highest-rated luxury travel company, we connect you with experts in the top 2% of the industry. They will design your journey with care and insight, taking the guesswork out of planning and ensuring you receive unparalleled value.

Extraordinary travel begins with a human touch, and our destination specialists design every journey with care, insight, and personal attention. As you consider your next vacation, use the following information to guide to planning your budget. Then, connect with our travel experts to help you plan your trip.

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Reviews of Zicasso's Referral Service

4.91 stars based on 4499 reviews.

Italy Trip Review: Guides, 9 Nights

Zicasso's travel agent created an itinerary and experience that was simply perfect. Every hotel experience, guide, and driver was excellent. She was kind, patient, knowledgeable, and made the perfect suggestions. I loved working with her! Thank you to our agent, the tour operator, and Zicasso for a wonderful trip!

Reviewed By Anita L.

Italy Vacation Review: Tuscany, Siena, Rome, Amalfi, Capri,...

Our Italy trip with Zicasso’s travel partner was nothing short of spectacular! Referred by a friend who had an amazing experience, we decided to give it a try and were not disappointed. Our agent was fantastic, always ready with answers to our questions and providing excellent support throughout our journey.

In Tuscany, we visited beautiful wineries and enjoyed a delightful lunch with the vintners, who were incredibly warm and welcoming. Her attention to detail was evident when she adjusted our plans due to weather changes and even checked in on us when we were slightly delayed for a tour.

Siena was breathtaking and our hotel in Rome was perfectly located, allowing us to walk to all the major sites. One of the highlights was a small boat tour around Capri from Amalfi—perfect weather and stunning waters made it unforgettable. The cooking class on the Amalfi Coast, set on the side of a cliff, was exceptional and having personal tours just for the two of us was an unexpected and delightful bonus.

We can't express enough how much we enjoyed our Italy trip. The travel partner exceeded our expectations and we highly recommend them for a truly memorable experience!

Reviewed By Kent S.

Italy Anniversary Travel Review: Tuscany, Local Cuisine,...

Zicasso’s trip coordinator and her team did a fantastic job, not only in planning the trip to meet our needs and wants, but also in personalizing it as needed. They were also available as we needed them to adjust things, such as pickups, and even made some dinner reservations for us. With our budget, they set us up in excellent hotels that fit our desire for the trip to be a wonderful anniversary getaway. Her staff were also very helpful. We would strongly recommend them for a trip to Italy!

Reviewed By Rajesh J.

Italy Family Trip Review: Lake Como, Amalfi Coast, 2 Weeks...

Zicasso's travel planner and her staff did a perfect job for our family of six. She made our trip seamless!

Everything she planned was perfect and no detail was left out. I would use them again and again for my travels to Italy.

Reviewed By Sally F.

Switzerland, Italy Solo Vacation Review: Zurich, Lucerne,...

My first solo trip was something I had dreamed about for years. I wanted it to be more than sightseeing. I wanted adventure, comfort, safety, and freedom without the stress of planning it all alone. Through Zicasso, I was connected to two specialists and Zicasso's travel consultant stood out immediately. She delivered an itinerary that gave me everything I asked for and more: maximum cities, maximum fun, and maximum value, all without compromise.

Before deciding, I researched and compared tours, packages, and individual prices online. The travel consultant’s proposal came out on top for value and content. While the other agent offered fewer cities and activities at a higher price, her plan was ambitious without being overwhelming. She booked my trains, arranged private transfers where needed, and selected boutique-style hotels that exceeded expectations. I was honestly surprised at how good they were. I stayed at hotels in Interlaken, Florence, and Sorrento. Each was clean, comfortable, and perfectly located for exploring. I had prepared myself for budget trade-offs, but instead, I found thoughtfully chosen hotels that balanced affordability with real quality.

Every document, train ticket, and activity confirmation was uploaded into the app. It became my lifeline throughout the trip, with every detail at my fingertips. The structure gave me confidence, while still leaving me free to explore.

Switzerland came first: Zurich, Lucerne, Interlaken, and Zermatt. Each city felt like stepping into a postcard. Interlaken gave me the adrenaline rush of skydiving, while Zermatt charmed me with its close-knit magic and alpine beauty. Italy unfolded with equal ease: Lake Como, Venice, Florence, Sorrento, Amalfi, and Rome. Every destination felt curated, yet natural, from gondola rides in Venice to boat tours on the Amalfi Coast.

What I loved most was the balance between structure and freedom. Pre-booked activities and restaurant reservations gave me a strong framework, but I could just as easily decide to spend an afternoon wandering Florence, eating gelato, or sitting in a piazza. The rhythm of the trip was perfect, structured enough to tick off bucket-list highlights, yet relaxed enough to feel like a real vacation.

Food was freestyle, but memorable. Highlights included a Japanese-Peruvian restaurant in Zurich with its elegant Japanese-Peruvian flavors, a different Japanese restaurant, a restaurant in Como with its modern fusion menu, an Indian restaurant for comforting classics, and international favorites like those in one of the restaurants in Rome. Between those meals and plenty of gelato and crepes, every stop added its own flavor to the journey.

As a solo traveler, safety mattered. I felt comfortable walking around in the evenings and was usually back in my hotel by 1am to stay rested for the next day. What really gave me peace of mind was the travel consultant’s constant support. Communication was fast and responsive. I never had to wait long for answers, whether through the app or email. There was a moment when I made a mistake with the trains and missed an activity. She immediately stepped in and worked to reschedule it or secure a refund that same day.

Earlier in the planning process, I also had a card issue due to an address error. Even though policy would not normally allow it, she and her team patiently waited until I received the refund before finalizing the booking, just weeks before my trip. That flexibility and care spoke volumes.

The difference was clear. She used my budget to its fullest potential, giving me more destinations, more experiences, and better hotels than the alternative option. She managed to combine the efficiency of a fully organized tour with the freedom of independent travel. Everything was planned, yet everything was still mine to shape.

This trip was everything I wanted: good food, beautiful views, safety, and absolute reliability. It was an organized journey with freestyle flexibility, which is exactly what solo travelers dream of. The travel consultant’s planning let me chase adventure while always knowing I had a safety net. Switzerland and Italy gave me memories I will never forget, but it was the behind-the-scenes planning that made it possible. If you want a trip that is your way, your budget, your pace, but without the endless hassle of managing it yourself, the travel consultant at this agency is the person who can make it happen. My first solo trip became my dream trip and that is the highest praise I can give.

Reviewed By tasmia S.

Italy Trip Review: Rome, Tuscany, 2 Weeks

Zicasso's was an excellent travel company. The attention to all trip details by our tour operator was amazing. We enjoyed all the tours, the guides, the accommodations, the drivers, the Italian train system, and restaurant recommendations, and his itinerary information that we downloaded on our iPhones was extremely valuable throughout our entire trip. I would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone. I would definitely consider using him for future travel.

Reviewed By Kathy D.