Italy is the country of good food and culinary variety, with regional eno-gastronomical traditions as rich as they are different one from each other. Summer vacations are the occasion to dive into local flavors, thanks to the many festivals and fairs which take place along the Boot, but also during the rest of the year there are many opportunities to discover what is special on the tables of every region.
The “Flags of taste” assigned every year by the farmers’ organization Coldiretti help to orientate, and not to miss any opportunity to taste the local specialties at zero km. The “flags” represent a real culinary guide to the typical and genuinely good food of all the regions of Italy, at the service of travelers who want to make a tour of Italy from flavor to flavor.

Good food to restart Italy

The Flags of Taste are the result of the work of entire generations of farmers committed to defending the biodiversity of the territory and good food traditions over time. These are not only local resources and riches of a circumscribed area, but also a common good for the entire community and a cultural heritage on which Italy can count, to recover after the pandemic crisis.

Different regions, different good food

In order to be awarded the Flag of Taste and become part of the eno-gastronomic heritage recognized by Coldiretti, it is not enough for a food to be good or original. Agri-food products and culinary specialties must be obtained according to traditional rules, protracted in time for at least 25 years. Based on the latest Coldiretti census, the Flags of Taste in Italy are a total of 5333, distributed throughout the country, many of which have been saved from the pandemic thanks to the tenacity and hard work of Italian farmers’ cooperatives.

The tour of Italian diversity

Italy is an extraordinary concentration of the culture of good food, a millenary knowledge that has sedimented thanks to the influences and legacies of the many peoples who have crossed and lived there. From the Greeks to the Romans, from the Longobards to the Normans, from the Spanish to the French, each contamination has left its mark on one or more good food specialties, building the immense heritage that enriches the Mediterranean Diet and that not by chance has been recognized by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Campania queen of good food

It is not a coincidence that the Unesco recognition was the result of a study carried out in the Cilento area and that the last accredited patrimony was that of the Art of Neapolitan Pizzaiuoli: the regional map of the special classification of good food elaborated by Coldiretti sees Campania at the top, with 569 typical specialties: if you are in the area, keep an eye on the local festivals and food fairs, as well as the beautiful landscapes. Among the specialties of Campania, cheeses stand out, starting from ricotta di fuscella of Sant’Anastasia, prepared with whole cow’s milk without any kind of preservative.

Tuscany of a thousand flavors

Tuscany, which for many years has been at the top of the list of the regions with the most typical specialties, now has 463 of them. The lion’s share of good Tuscan food, in the festivals as well as on the tables of vacation homes, are fresh meats and sausages, such as Tizzone di Giustagnana, whose recipe dates back to the 19th century, and the famous Prosciutto di cinta senese, made from an ancient breed of pig raised in the wild. Among the certified good food, there are also many cheeses, such as the pecorino cheese of Roccalbegna (Grosseto), and culinary preparations such as the cake of Villa Basilica, a savory cake made of rice with a yellow ocher color, stuffed with cheese and spicy spices.

From pasta to desserts, appetite comes with travelling

The ranking sees Lazio in third place, with 438 excellent products, followed by Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Piedmont, Puglia, Liguria, Calabria, Lombardy, Sicily, Sardinia and so on up to Valle d’Aosta. The evaluation is based on different culinary specialties and typical food, starting from the endless assortment of bread, pasta and cookies and the many qualities of vegetables, both fresh and processed.
On the tables of Italians as well as among the flags of taste there are fish, mollusks, crustaceans, cheeses, fresh meats, salami, hams, and sausages of many kinds. The flags of certified specialties include 143 non-alcoholic beverages, liqueurs, and distillates.

Traveling in Italy is a unique opportunity to discover typical recipes and gastronomic products protagonists of the festivals and events that enliven summer evenings.

Vacations in Italy? With Fairbnb.coop even bees find a home

Among the excellences of Made in Italy there are also many qualities of honey. In Valle d’Aosta alone, there are three of them: chestnut honey (Mi de tsatagnì), rhododendron honey (Mi de framicllo) and mountain wildflower honey (Mi de fleur de montagne). With bees increasingly at risk of extinction, honey is one of the products to whose protection we are called to contribute. Fairbnb.coop is doing its part by purchasing hives for organic beekeepers in various regions of Italy.

You too can do yours, simply by booking on our platform the next accommodation on your tour of Italy and donating our commission to Legambiente’s Save the Queen campaign.

New Recognitions for Ancient Recipes

The culinary imagination of Italians has no boundaries, much less regional ones. Who knows the ‘ndremmappi of Jenne? This is a typical dish of the transhumance of the Upper Aniene Valley, made with poor pasta, obtained from whole wheat flour, water and salt, seasoned with a sauce made with oil, garlic, hot pepper, tomato and anchovies: simple and very tasty. Among the Flags of Taste there is also soperzata from Rivello, in Basilicata, a salami that distinguishes itself for quality and production methods from the many similar sausages spread all over Southern Italy and which has been produced for more than three centuries.

The flag of biodiversity

Every year, thanks to the scrupulousness and tenacity of many Italian farmers, ancient qualities of many food products are recovered, saving them from extinction. This is the case of the Mola artichoke, in Apulia, whose disappearance seemed unstoppable because of a disease that caused the wilting of the flower heads. Some tenacious farmers managed to restore vigor to its cultivation, and Coldiretti awarded them the Flag of Taste. Recognition also for the paccucce of Colmurano (Marche), apple segments preferably pink, dried in the sun or in the oven and preserved for the winter immersed in sapa, to be then used in various ways, in particular in the preparation of cakes and pies.

Tour of Italy, full of beer

Among Flags of Taste there are many wines produced in different regions, as well as some special beers, in particular the one from Savignone (Liguria), the one from Fiemme (Trentino-Alto Adige) and the one from Valganna (Lombardy). These are three preparations which boast unique artisanal characteristics based on the lightness and the content of vitamins, on the quality of water and on the qualities of lupin and wild hops, rediscovered after long researches on the territory and processed by using the techniques and methods of the past.

Do not miss the festivals dedicated to wines and beers!