Amatriciana: A Mountain Dish That Became a Roman Symbol

Spaghetti Amatriciana

From white to red, from shepherds to trattorias

Pasta all’Amatriciana is today a staple of Roman menus, yet its soul belongs to the small mountain town of Amatrice, perched between Lazio and Abruzzo. Like many Italian classics, the dish tells a story of modest origins, gradual transformation, and eventual canonization as cultural heritage.

1. Before the Tomato: The Age of Gricia

Long before tomatoes colored the sauce, there was gricia, a humble preparation carried by shepherds during the transhumance. With nothing more than guanciale (cured pork jowl), pecorino cheese, and black pepper, gricia was hearty, portable, and satisfying. It became known as la bianca — the white mother of what would later evolve into Amatriciana.

The name “gricia” itself is debated. Some link it to Grisciano, a nearby hamlet, while others say it derives from “grici”, food vendors of Roman markets who sold bread and pasta dishes. Regardless, the dish set the foundation: cured pork, sharp sheep’s milk cheese, and pepper.

2. The Arrival of the Tomato

The transformation occurred in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, when the tomato, imported centuries earlier from the Americas, finally became accepted in Italian kitchens. Slowly added to gricia, the tomato changed everything: turning the dish red, deepening its flavors, and creating a harmony between the fatty guanciale and the acidity of the sauce.

By the 19th century, Amatrice was sending seasonal workers and shepherds to Rome, who brought the recipe with them. The city’s trattorias quickly embraced the new dish, and Amatriciana began to acquire fame far beyond its mountain birthplace.

3. Codifying the Tradition

Today, authentic Amatriciana is protected under Italy’s Specialità Tradizionale Garantita (STG) status. Its official ingredients are:

• Guanciale, rendered to release its savory fat

• White wine, used to deglaze

• Tomatoes, ideally San Marzano or peeled varieties

• Pecorino cheese from the surrounding mountains

• Black pepper or chili flakes

Notably absent are garlic and onion — common additions in Roman kitchens but rejected by purists in Amatrice. Local officials have been vocal about this. As one deputy mayor put it, “Using garlic or onion in an amatriciana ignores nearly a thousand years of pastoral tradition.”

Even the pasta itself is subject to debate: in Amatrice, it is traditionally spaghetti, while in Rome, the choice often falls on bucatini, whose hollow center traps the sauce.

4. Rome Adopts — and Adapts

Once in Rome, the dish flourished. Trastevere trattorias turned it into a city signature, often tweaking the recipe — adding onion, swapping guanciale for pancetta, or using Parmigiano alongside Pecorino. These adaptations spread internationally, where “Amatriciana” is sometimes served with choices that would horrify Amatrice locals.

Yet the Roman embrace also ensured the dish’s survival and fame. By the 20th century, Amatriciana stood beside carbonara, cacio e pepe, and gricia as one of the “four pillars” of Roman pasta.

5. A Dish of Resilience and Identity

In 2016, when a devastating earthquake struck Amatrice, the dish became more than food: it became a symbol of solidarity. Restaurants across Italy and abroad launched fundraising campaigns with “Amatriciana for Amatrice,” channeling proceeds to victims of the disaster. It was proof that a recipe could carry not only flavor but also collective identity and resilience.

Conclusion: More Than Just Pasta

Amatriciana is, at its heart, a story of adaptation. Born as a white shepherd’s meal, transformed by the tomato into a vivid red sauce, adopted and reshaped by Rome, and finally defended as cultural patrimony, it represents the entire arc of Italian cuisine: from necessity to artistry, from local survival food to international icon.

On the fork, it tastes like tomato, pork, cheese, and pepper. In history, it tastes like a thousand years of mountains, migration, and memory.