Diversity of the Italian cuisine is a merit of the diversity of its regional cuisines. North Italians are mostly cattle-ranching, which has influenced their habit of cooking meals made out of meat and milk products. Southern1 kitchens have loads of salads, sauces, and several versions of Risotto as the region is rich with fruits and vegetables.

As for our favorite pasta, its origination is still disputable. Some think that the idea of boiling dough in a hot water belongs to Chinese and that Marco Polo has brought its recipe to Italy. However, pasta the way we have it now, is of course created by Italians only. Italians have created various kinds and shapes of pasta, they have dressed it with cheese, tomato and several other sauces. So, pasta is a genuine Italian dish.

A real charm of Italian cuisine is Pizza, which is the most popular meal in the world. In the beginning Pizza was taken as a meal for poor as they'd place remains of the previous dinner on a dough and bake it.

 Today there is a huge variety of Pizza, like Margarita, Capricciosa, vegetarian, pepperoni, four cheese pizza, etc. Closed pizza is called Calzone. The queen of Italian cuisine is dessert Tiramisu, which is made of cookie sticks (ladyfingers) and Mascarpone cream. 

Italian kitchen uses a good amount of seasonings, basil among which is the most popular as being added to almost all the dishes.

 Italy is rich with wine and cheese. Popular wines are: Proseco, Barbaresco, Barolo, Sangiovese, Marsala, Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino, etc. Most precious Italian cheeses are: Mozzarella, Gorgonzola, Ricotta, Parmigiano and many more. 

Limoncello is lovely Italian liquor made out of lemons. As for the non-alcoholic beverages coffee is the absolute leader as Italians have cappuccino, espresso, mocha and etc.