Dining is one of Italy’s consummate pleasures and Perfetto Traveler curates authentic experiences to feel how the Italians have raised cooking (and eating) to an extraordinary art form that stretches back millennia. Italian cuisine is one of the world’s favorites—light, healthy, flavorful, and friendly, based on simple, fresh, seasonal, local ingredients cooked on the spot. Wherever you go in Italy, explore the local specialties, ranging from prosciutto (cured ham) and parmigiano cheese in Parma; pesto and focaccia in Liguria; risotto in Venice; panforte, a fruity Christmas cake, in Siena; delicious desserts such as cannoli, zabaglione, and cassata in Sicily; pizza, made with the region’s celebrated mozzarella, in Naples; and of course, gelato, everywhere. Did you know the traditional Italian menu includes five sections. A full meal usually consists of an appetizer, a first course, a second course with a side dish, and a dessert and of course, after dessert, you will be offered a caffè (coffee) or a digestivo (an after-dinner liqueur), which is believed to aid digestion. You can even order a caffè corretto—a shot of espresso spiked with a liqueur! Mangiare!