Raw octopus and other strange Italian food / facebook.com/Nonna-Rosa-osteria-203559429671298
Raw octopus and other strange Italian food / facebook.com/Nonna-Rosa-osteria-203559429671298

Italian cuisine is known and adored all over the world for its excellent ingredients, its wide variety and its ancient culinary tradition of pizza and pasta. Perhaps not everyone knows, however, that there are some real culinary oddities hidden along the length of the boot.

From north to south we find curious dishes with bizarre names and, in some cases, foods that require a certain amount of courage to be eaten. However, where some people see disgusting Italian food, others see true delicacies.

Get ready for a curious and unusual gastronomic journey to discover the specialties that tell the story of their local territory and of the people who have handed down the recipes and particular processing techniques for generations on end. Your taste buds are sure to enjoy a unique experience with some of the strangest food in Italy.

1. Authentic Florentine street food

    Lampredotto from Florence / Wikimedia commons
    Lampredotto from Florence / Wikimedia commons

    Tuscany is one of the tastiest regions of Italy, famous for its gastronomy and typical food products, but perhaps not everyone knows of the lampredotto, the street food par excellence in the beautiful city of Florence.

    Walking through the streets of the Tuscan capital, you can find many kiosks that still offer this typical dish which started life many centuries ago as peasant food. It is prepared by cooking one of the four stomachs of a cow, the abomasum, for a long time and adding tomatoes, onions, parsley and celery.

    It is usually served and eaten in a sandwich: the perfect snack to enjoy while admiring the artistic wonders of the city.

    2. The sausage that takes real balls to try

      'Mortadella di Campotosto', aka mule's testicles / Wikimedia commons
      'Mortadella di Campotosto', aka mule's testicles / Wikimedia commons

      They’re informally known as coglioni di mulo”, or mule’s testicles, but don't be fooled by the name: this typical product from the Italian province of L'Aquila has nothing to do with mules. In fact it’s a sausage, the mortadella di Campotosto, which boasts a tradition going back 500 years and, due to the low rate of production, is a real rarity.

      The peculiarity of this mortadella is that inside there is a bar of lard, which you only discover once you cut into the sausage. After a walk in the green Monti della Laga, the place where the pigs were bred with which this mortadella was made, there is nothing better than a good glass of wine and a few slices of this uniquely named sausage to get your strength back.

      3. Italian sushi on Bari seafront

        Raw octopus, a rare delicacy / pixabay.com/es/users/cegoh-94852
        Raw octopus, a rare delicacy / pixabay.com/es/users/cegoh-94852

        If you just love sushi but can’t afford a flight to Japan, try Bari instead. One of the gastronomic specialties of the Apulian capital is raw octopus.

        On the seafront of Bari, in addition to enjoying this delicious, fresh seafood, you can see the truly unique sight of people “curling” the octopus. Skilled fishermen slap the octopus vigorously on the rocks to curl its tentacles and make them softer. After the various phases that make up this particular technique that has been handed down for generations, the octopus is ready to be eaten uncooked.

        Don’t miss this wacky culinary delight from one of Italy’s most beautiful regions, the result of an ancient tradition that encompasses all the flavour of the sea.

        4. The Sardinian cheese with a wriggling secret

          Casu marzu / Wikimedia commons
          Casu marzu / Wikimedia commons

          Among the most curious food in Italy is casu marzu, a cheese from Sardinia with maggots in it. It’s just a sheep’s cheese, or better yet a goat’s cheese, that is colonised by fly larvae.

          This Sardinian delicacy is widespread throughout the island, although the name changes according to the area and is included in the database of traditional Italian food products of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.

          The taste of this cheese, which looks like a tasty cream inside, is very particular and pungent and it is an experience reserved only for the most daring palates.