Deirdreod's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Castagne del Prete
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Sweets

Castagne del Prete

To do Christmas right, Italians turn to heavenly chestnuts.
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Cynar
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Drinks

Cynar

Artichokes form the backbone of this vegetal liqueur.
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Alkermes
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Ingredients & Condiments

Alkermes

Once an insect-dyed health tonic, this liqueur now adds a scarlet tint to Italian pastries.
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Brasadè
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Sweets

Brasadè

Make yourself delicious jewelry with these sweet Italian biscuits.
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Rabarbaro
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Drinks

Rabarbaro

Chinese rhubarb imparts an organic smoky aroma to this Italian amaro.
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Liquore all'Alloro
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Drinks

Liquore all'Alloro

If there is anything that should rest on its laurels, it’s probably this laurel-infused digestif.
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Carta di Musica
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Prepared Foods

Carta di Musica

Bread so thin, you can read music through the dough.
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Marzipan Easter Lamb
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Sweets

Marzipan Easter Lamb

This sweet symbolic figurine is a Sicilian holiday tradition.
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Sbirro Cheese
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Meats & Animal Products

Sbirro Cheese

Italy's first beer cheese gets coated in spent brewing grains and soaked in lager.
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Piacentino Ennese
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Meats & Animal Products

Piacentino Ennese

This Sicilian sheep's milk cheese is colored with saffron and studded with black peppercorns.
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Amaro di Sant'Antimo
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Drinks

Amaro di Sant'Antimo

At an abbey in the Tuscan countryside, monks specialize in a curative, flower-based liqueur.
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Luxardo Maraschino Cherries
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Ingredients & Condiments

Luxardo Maraschino Cherries

Real maraschinos were born more than a century ago in an Italian distillery.
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Brioche con Gelato
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Sweets

Brioche con Gelato

Some Sicilians start their day with this decadent combination.
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Lorighittas
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Prepared Foods

Lorighittas

Making a pound of this pretty pasta can take an entire day.
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Pizza Ebraica
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Sweets

Pizza Ebraica

This cookie is found only in Rome's Jewish quarter.
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Graffe
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Sweets

Graffe

During Carnival, Neapolitans fill up on these fluffy potato doughnuts.
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Cassata Siciliana
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Sweets

Cassata Siciliana

The seductively delicious Easter cake once made an entire convent neglect its prayers.
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Capezzoli di Venere
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Sweets

Capezzoli di Venere

A decadent dessert whose Italian name translates to “nipples of Venus.”
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Prickly Pear Liqueur
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Story
Drinks

Prickly Pear Liqueur

This jewel-toned Sicilian and Maltese specialty is so sweet, it’s hard to believe it comes from a spiky cactus.
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Pizza Montanara
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Prepared Foods

Pizza Montanara

Its deep-fried crust is part of a longstanding Neapolitan tradition.
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Carciofi alla Giudia
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Prepared Foods

Carciofi alla Giudia

Created in Rome's Jewish ghetto, the fried artichokes herald spring.
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Traditional Balsamic Vinegar
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Ingredients & Condiments

Traditional Balsamic Vinegar

Most people have never tasted the real thing.
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Saint Agatha's Breasts
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Story
Sweets

Saint Agatha's Breasts

This ricotta and marzipan pastry honors the Sicilian saint's most noteworthy body part.
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Strawberry Tree Fruit
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Fruits & Vegetables

Strawberry Tree Fruit

The lychee-looking fruit appears in everything from jam and liqueur to the Aeneid and Madrid's flag.
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