A journey back in time to discover the origins and places where the finest expressions of Italian gastronomic tradition were born. An itinerary through our regions via a selection of Italy's most famous and delicious dishes, sure to satisfy even the most curious appetite.

Teglio and its pizzoccheri. Lombardy

Pizzoccheri, originally from the Valtellina, are a dish from the Lombard culinary tradition. It is well known that many historical figures and literary personalities visited the town of Teglio and tasted the local speciality, pizzoccheri, immortalising them in celebrated odes. In the Valtellina, pizzoccheri are made primarily with buckwheat flour, cut into thin strips just under 10 centimetres long and served with cheese, vegetables, butter, garlic and sage. In Valtellina restaurants, many chefs have modified the original recipe to mask the flavour of buckwheat. For the authentic original recipe, Teglio is the right place to go.

Genoa, the Riviera di Levante and trofie al pesto. Liguria

Trofie al pesto are a hallmark of Ligurian cuisine. The history of trofie, a dough of water and flour, traces its origins to around the eleventh century, when cooks who had set off on the Crusades would roll the dough between their fingers. This is where the elongated, twisted shape of trofie comes from. While the Riviera di Levante is the home of the trofia, pesto is without doubt Genoese, from the Prà district. The use of aromatic herbs in Liguria dates back to the Middle Ages, when only the nobility could afford spices. Traditionally prepared by pounding the ingredients — the main one being basil — in a mortar with a wooden pestle, pesto has today become the symbol of the city of Genoa. Here, among the narrow alleyways near the port, you can find traditional restaurants that serve it paired with the famous trofie.

Bologna and lasagne. Emilia-Romagna

The fame of this quintessential Bolognese dish was born in the Emilian capital itself at the dawn of the Baroque period, when cooks began to prepare lasagne as we know them today. The richness of this dish celebrates the wealth of its home city and the mix of nationalities among the students attending the renowned University of Bologna. Although the original recipe calls for a filling of spinach, béchamel, Parmesan and the celebrated ragù, there are countless variations, the fruit of this dish's spread into home cooking.

From Forlì to Rimini, the piadina. Emilia-Romagna

To taste the true piadina romagnola you have to visit the small piadinerie scattered across the area between Forlì and Rimini. Here, in each small town the piadina takes on a different form and can be enjoyed with a variety of fillings and presentations. The origins of this flatbread can be traced to the flatbreads typical of Asian cuisine; as for the name, the connection with "piàdena" — the wooden board on which food is placed — is beyond doubt. The varieties of piadine or piade are all linked to the town they come from: the Forlì version is thicker, the Rimini version is very thin, and the Montefeltro version, known as crescia, is flaky and highly flavoursome thanks to the addition of pepper in the dough. To truly call yourself a piadina connoisseur, there is nothing for it but to travel and taste.

Florence, Arezzo and ribollita. Tuscany

Tuscany brings the peasant tradition to the table with ribollita, the classic Florentine vegetable soup. The beauty and goodness of this dish lie in its versatility: in any self-respecting kitchen it reflects the seasonality of vegetables, even though the original recipe calls for autumnal ingredients such as beans, chard and Tuscan black cabbage. Tradition has it that the name derives from the fact that the leftover or trimmed vegetables from the whole week were cooked on Friday and then boiled again and again with stale bread and oil over the following week. In Florence, as in Arezzo, it is impossible not to eat a ribollita. It may never be quite like your grandmother's, but you will enjoy a dish that is good, characterful and healthy — well worth the journey.

Amatrice and its spaghetti. Lazio

In the small medieval village of Amatrice, in the province of Rieti, the recipe for spaghetti all'amatriciana was born. No dish more than this one can be considered so tied to its territory. Not only because of its name, but above all because of the use of ingredients such as guanciale and Amatrice pecorino, this dish brings the culture and traditions of the place to the table. Originally, amatriciana was white; it was only at the beginning of the eighteenth century that it began to be cooked with tomato sauce. Never claim that spaghetti all'amatriciana is a typical Roman dish — that would be a terrible mistake: it was the shepherds of Amatrice, who came to the capital for the transhumance, who introduced their local speciality to the city. To eat the true pasta all'amatriciana, it is not Rome you need to head to, but Amatrice.

Naples and pizza Margherita. Campania

The word "pizza" appears for the first time in Naples in the seventeenth century, when this name is given to a type of flatbread topped with cheese, fish, or simply oil. The most famous pizza, the Margherita, was born in 1889 when Neapolitan pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito dedicated to Queen Margherita of Savoy a pizza topped with tomato, mozzarella and basil — the colours of the Italian flag. Neapolitan pizza is round with a thin base and high edges. Thanks to the affordability of its ingredients and their familiarity within Italian tradition, this dish has spread enormously. The Brandi pizzeria, where the Margherita was born, still exists, and even today, visiting Naples, it is possible to eat a genuine Neapolitan pizza right beneath a plaque commemorating its birth.

Bari and orecchiette with turnip tops. Puglia

Orecchiette are the cornerstone of Puglian culinary tradition. Round and concave in shape, inspired by the roofs of the trulli, orecchiette are worked strictly by hand to ensure the inside is smooth and the outside rough, so as to better hold the dressing, which is often based on turnip tops. The territorial origin of this dish is attributed to Bari, where in the twelfth century it is documented that a baker left his business as a dowry to a daughter who was highly skilled in preparing "recchietedde". Bari tradition calls for orecchiette in various sizes: the larger ones for vegetable dressings and the smaller ones to pair with tomato sauce. All of this to make this pasta even more pleasing to the palate.

Caltanissetta and the Sicilian cannolo. Sicily

Legend has it that the Sicilian cannolo was born in Caltanissetta, which in Arabic means "City of women," owing to the number of harems kept by the Saracen emirs. Here, women once devoted themselves to preparing exquisite dishes, among them the cannolo filled with ricotta, almonds and honey, as a tribute to the sultan's virile prowess. During the Christian era, the authorship of the cannolo was attributed to cloistered nuns. Between the sacred and the profane, food historians are certain of the Arab origins of this rich sweet, given the resemblances to the use of spices, the opulence and the variety of flavours found in Arab-Greek cuisine — not to mention the attention to sensory pleasure deeply rooted in Arab culture. Caltanissetta is therefore the "city of the cannolo," the perfect place to savour this wafer shell filled with ricotta — traditionally sheep's milk ricotta — enriched with candied fruit, chocolate or chopped pistachios.

From all of Italy, tiramisù.

Tiramisù, the most widespread dessert in Italian restaurants, has no certain birthplace. The regions that compete for the authorship of this delicious coffee-based dessert are many indeed, and equally numerous are the legends in which it plays the leading role. Between the stories of Sienese pastry chefs, who are said to have prepared it for the supremely gluttonous Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo de' Medici, and those of the cooks at the "El Toulà" restaurant in Treviso, who had to invent a dessert to "lift the spirits" of customers from a nearby brothel, this dessert can only call itself Italian. Known throughout the world, prepared in every home, enjoyed on every occasion, this dessert made with layers of savoiardi biscuits soaked in coffee and immersed in a luscious mascarpone cream is one of the emblems of Italian culinary tradition.

Discover the sustainability and smooth driving experience of the Toyota Hybrid range