Many of you have asked about the specifics of food on the Via Francigena. In today’s blog we’re going to cover food in Italy, including meal times, courses, etiquette, and what to expect in general when dining on the Italian regions of the route.
Italy is considered by many as being home to some of the finest cuisines in the world. Food on the Via Francigena is all about wholesome, locally sourced, seasonal produce — and dining is all about taking your time and enjoying the company of friends and family. Here is a thing or two that you should know before tucking into a meal in the culinary queen of Europe.
1. Breakfast
It’s worth knowing that Italians don’t tend to eat a large amount in the morning. Breakfast is usually comprised of coffee along with something sweet such as cake or biscuits, in bigger towns you may find ham and cheese as part of the breakfast offering but let it be known that if it’s a full Irish breakfast you’re after, you won’t find it in Italy!
On the Via Francigena in Tuscany, breakfast at an agriturismo or guesthouse is often one of the highlights of the day — good coffee, fresh pastries, and occasionally local cured meats and cheeses laid out on a table in a farmhouse kitchen. Eat well before you set off. The morning stages cover most of the day’s distance, and there are very few cafes between villages.
2. Dinner
Dinner in Italy is generally made up of three courses. To start is antipasto, which is usually a meat or cheese board or a combination of both. Next comes primo, which translates as the first, this dish is usually pasta or risotto.
After that is the second dish or secondo, this will either be meat or fish and may also come with a side of salad. Mealtimes vary according to region and hotel.
Dinner usually takes place around 8 o’clock but restaurants in the more northern parts will be more open to having dinner earlier with dinner time in the more southern parts of Italy being later.
3. Coffee
Italians are serious about their coffee and one thing in particular: when the clock strikes noon no more coffee with milk is consumed. The morning coffee culture in Italy is also worth embracing. An espresso or cappuccino standing at a bar counter costs less than sitting at a table, and the ritual of stopping at a cafe before your first stage is one of the small daily pleasures that makes walking in Italy different from anywhere else.
Here at CaminoWays.com our very own reservations manager recoils in horror whenever somebody so much as utters the word cappuccino past 12pm. If you want to drink coffee like an Italian, it’s espresso only past midday.
4. Aperitivo
If you are lucky enough to find yourself in a bar in Italy somewhere around the hours of 6pm and 8pm you’re likely to be treated to an aperitivo, which is a free portion of food that comes with your drink, a lot like the culture of tapas in Spain.
Italians are not known for scrimping on portion sizes and aperitivos can often come in quite a generous portion so you may even need to rethink your dinner plans!
5. Dinner
Dinner in Italy is generally made up of three courses. To start is antipasto, which is usually a meat or cheese board, or a combination of both. Next comes primo — the first course — which is usually pasta or risotto. After that is secondo, the main course of meat or fish, which may also come with a side salad.
Mealtimes vary according to region and hotel. Dinner usually takes place around 8 o’clock, but restaurants in the more northern parts of Italy are more open to eating earlier. In the more southern parts, dinner time is later. Don’t try to eat at 6pm — most kitchens simply won’t be open.
In Tuscany, the quality of dinner after a long day’s walking is one of the great pleasures of the route. The food is simple, seasonal, and consistently excellent: pici pasta with wild boar, ribollita, bistecca alla fiorentina, Chianti.
CaminoWays packages include breakfast as standard, but dinner can be added to your booking — or you can explore the restaurants in each town independently. For a full guide to what to order, read our perfect Italian dinner in Tuscany.
Aoife has an affinity for all things Hispanic. She has travelled the length of Spain, backpacked her way from Peru to Patagonia and packed in a trip to Cuba! When not travelling, you'll find her lugging her guitar around Dublin.
