List of Italian foods and drinks

Significant changes occurred with the discovery of the New World and the introduction of potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers and maize, now central to the cuisine, but not introduced in quantity until the 18th century.

[2][3] Italian cuisine includes deeply rooted traditions common to the whole country, as well as all the regional gastronomies, different from each other, especially between the north, the centre and the south[4] of Italy, which are in continuous exchange.

[14][15] The Mediterranean diet forms the basis of Italian cuisine, rich in pasta, fish, fruits and vegetables.

[17] Desserts have a long tradition of merging local flavours such as citrus fruits, pistachio and almonds with sweet cheeses such as mascarpone and ricotta or exotic tastes such as cocoa, vanilla and cinnamon.

A great number of pizza varieties exist, defined by the choice of toppings and sometimes also crust.