L’Aquila developed one of Italy’s most recognizable departures from classic white torrone: a tender chocolate-and-hazelnut style closely associated with the city’s twentieth-century confectionery tradition and especially with the Nurzia name. Tradition does not have to be medieval to be authentic. A product becomes part of a place when generations make it, eat it and identify with it. Chocolate changes both the flavor and structure of nougat, adding cocoa butter, bitterness a

Story of the Dish Maccheroni alla chitarra are one of Abruzzo’s signature pastas. The square-section strands are traditionally cut by pressing sheets of egg pasta over a wooden frame strung with metal wires, the chitarra. Their firm edges and rough surface are ideal for robust sauces, especially lamb ragù. The combination reflects Abruzzo’s pastoral landscape, where sheep farming and handmade pasta have long shared the same table. A good lamb ragù should taste deeply of meat

Traditional Italian Abruzzese Fish Stew from Pescara Story of the Dish Brodetto alla Pescarese represents the maritime side of Abruzzo and the fishing traditions of Pescara and the central Adriatic coast. Like other Adriatic brodetti, it developed from fishermen’s cooking, transforming small fish, rockfish, cuttlefish, shellfish, and other parts of the catch into a deeply flavored meal with tomato, garlic, olive oil, wine, and simple aromatics. The Pescara version should rem