There are twenty regions in Italy, and two of them are islands: Sicily (Sicilia) and Sardinia (Sardegna). Islands are always particular, always different from the mainland. If you are planning to visit Italy, and you feel like having a particular culinary (among the other things) experience, then go to these islands first, the taste of the food and the hospitality of the people will make you live a holiday you will not forget any time soon.

Sicily (Sicilia)
The largest island in the Mediterranean is a fish lover’s paradise: tuna and lobsters from Trapani, swordfish from Messina. But it has a lot more to offer, than ‘just’ Neptune’s treasures. Citrus fruits and flavourful vegetables, including pumpkin and courgettes are cultivated and sea salt is extracted by means of large saltworks along the salt road between Trapani and Marsala. Additional specialties include frutta martorana (Marzipan fruits from Martorana) and sweet dessert Wines from Marsala, biancomangiare, a dish that can be either sweet or salted and has milk as common ingredients in all versions.

Sardinia (Sardegna)
The culinary specialties of this island are based on livestock and the previously rather modest lifestyle of the farmers and shepherds. There are supposedly around a thousands different kinds of sheep’s cheese in Sardinia. Other foods that should not be missed are the crisp, wafer-thin Sardinian bread called pane frattau (or pane carasau), air dried sausages as wild boar salami and Asfodelo honey, or malloreddus, a particular type of pasta. The best known wines are a full-bodied red called Cannonau, and a light white, Vermentino. There is also a very popular liqueur made with myrtle plant called Mirto.

I hope this list of Italian delicacies has left you with a desire to cook something Italian. I would recommend here a dessert recipe from Tuscany: cantuccini (almond-flavored biscuits) and an all-time classic Savory Pie With Broccoli Zucchini and Potatoes. Buon Appetito!