willc's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Cynar
Gastro Obscura
Story
Drinks

Cynar

Artichokes form the backbone of this vegetal liqueur.
Gastro Obscura
Sarde in Saor
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Prepared Foods

Sarde in Saor

Venetians celebrate the end of a 16th-century plague with sweet and sour sardines.
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Rabarbaro
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Drinks

Rabarbaro

Chinese rhubarb imparts an organic smoky aroma to this Italian amaro.
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Lampredotto
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Prepared Foods

Lampredotto

The secret to this sandwich is the cow’s fourth stomach.
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Alkermes
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Ingredients & Condiments

Alkermes

Once an insect-dyed health tonic, this liqueur now adds a scarlet tint to Italian pastries.
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Liquore all'Alloro
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Drinks

Liquore all'Alloro

If there is anything that should rest on its laurels, it’s probably this laurel-infused digestif.
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Cured Tuna Heart
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Meats & Animal Products

Cured Tuna Heart

In Sardinia, pasta gets a savory sprinkling of the dried and grated organ.
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Sbirro Cheese
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Meats & Animal Products

Sbirro Cheese

Italy's first beer cheese gets coated in spent brewing grains and soaked in lager.
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Carta di Musica
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Prepared Foods

Carta di Musica

Bread so thin, you can read music through the dough.
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Luxardo Maraschino Cherries
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Ingredients & Condiments

Luxardo Maraschino Cherries

Real maraschinos were born more than a century ago in an Italian distillery.
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Amaro di Sant'Antimo
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Drinks

Amaro di Sant'Antimo

At an abbey in the Tuscan countryside, monks specialize in a curative, flower-based liqueur.
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Piacentino Ennese
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Meats & Animal Products

Piacentino Ennese

This Sicilian sheep's milk cheese is colored with saffron and studded with black peppercorns.
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’Nduja
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Ingredients & Condiments

’Nduja

The fiery Calabrian meat spread also goes by "red Nutella" and "poor man's Viagra."
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Frutta Martorana
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Sweets

Frutta Martorana

Sicilian nuns once hung these sugary "fruits" from tree branches.
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Pizza Fritta
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Prepared Foods

Pizza Fritta

Folding and deep-frying pies is a beloved Neapolitan tradition.
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Capezzoli di Venere
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Sweets

Capezzoli di Venere

A decadent dessert whose Italian name translates to “nipples of Venus.”
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Salema Porgy
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Meats & Animal Products

Salema Porgy

After dining on this fish, your next course might be 36 hours of hallucinations.
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Lorighittas
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Prepared Foods

Lorighittas

Making a pound of this pretty pasta can take an entire day.
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Pizza Montanara
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Prepared Foods

Pizza Montanara

Its deep-fried crust is part of a longstanding Neapolitan tradition.
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Lacryma Christi
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Drinks

Lacryma Christi

The vineyards of Mount Vesuvius still produce the same wines enjoyed by the ancient Romans.
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Chestnut Beer
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Story
Drinks

Chestnut Beer

The ultimate in nutty brews.
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Sfogliatella
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Sweets

Sfogliatella

This layered pastry from Italy's Amalfi Coast may have origins in a 17th-century convent.
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Traditional Balsamic Vinegar
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Ingredients & Condiments

Traditional Balsamic Vinegar

Most people have never tasted the real thing.
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Saint Agatha's Breasts
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Story
Sweets

Saint Agatha's Breasts

This ricotta and marzipan pastry honors the Sicilian saint's most noteworthy body part.
Gastro Obscura