Italian food goes far beyond pizzas, spaghetti and lasagne. It is a cuisine full of flavours, aromas and tradition that has crossed the borders of the entire world. In short, it is one of the most imitated foods on the planet and, if it has been so, there must be a reason.

It is impossible to deny that you can go to the most remote place on earth, that there is no doubt that there is an Italian restaurant there or, even if it is not 100% Italian, I can assure you that among the dishes on the menu you will find pizza or pasta.

Below, I'm going to give you a brief outline of the Italian food you love so much so that the next time you try one of their dishes, you'll enjoy it even more.

Features of Italian food

Antiquity, a wide variety of ingredients and the love and care they put into the preparation of each of their dishes are the main characteristics of their success:

Mediterranean

The first thing you should know is that all the aroma and flavour of their cuisine comes from the Mediterranean, which gives us a huge clue as to why their ingredients are so natural, tasty and healthy. Indeed, it is because its climate favours the growth of good raw materials, such as durum wheat and olive oil.

Influences from the past

Italian cuisine has many influences from countries such as Greece, Africa and other Asian countries. So much so that it is rumoured that the Greeks made a flatbread that may have given rise to the birth of pizza.

Tradition

Italians love nothing more than to boast about their food, and that love and passion has been passed down from generation to generation. All their dishes respect their traditional recipes, although in each region of the country you may find variations or that one dish is more famous than another. For example, in the north, carpaccio and rissotto are more popular; in the south, pizzas and macaroni; and in the centre, bistecca alla fiorentina and mazzarelle.

Variety of ingredients

To highlight some of their ingredients, they use a lot of spinach and mushrooms for vegetables and fruit; prosciutto, mortadella and salami for meat and fish; pizza, focaccia, ravioli, risotto and lasagne for rice, bread and pasta; and mozzarella, granna padano and parmigiano reggiano for cheese.

I hope that, by the end of reading this article, you will have a great desire to eat a good plate of Italian food, but, of course, always do it surrounded by the best company.