Modern cultivation of the plant began in the fifteenth century in the Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Trentino regions of Italy, but the deep-red radicchio of today was engineered in 1860 by Belgian agronomist Francesco Van den Borre, who used a technique called imbianchimento (whitening), preforcing, or blanching to create the dark red, white-veined leaves.

It involves weeks of painstaking manual labor using a traditional forced growing and blanching method to produce the white ribs with red tops.

The IGP area covers 25 towns in the boroughs of Treviare, available only in the winter months, as well as 'Gorizia' (also known as "Rosa di Gorizia"), 'Trieste' (Cicoria zuccherina or Biondissim).

Root chicory contains volatile oils similar to those found in plants in the related genus Tanacetum, which includes tansy, and is likewise effective in eliminating intestinal worms.

However, for autumn crops, the flavor is changed predominantly by the onset of cold weather (the colder, the mellower), which also initiates the heading and reddening process in traditional varieties.

However, it can be made to stand through a British or West European winter, and the head will regenerate if cut off carefully above ground level, so long as the plant is protected against severe frost.

A light-excluding cover (e.g., an inverted pot) may be used during the latter phases of growth to produce leaves with a more pronounced colour contrast, simultaneously protecting against frost and cold winds.

However, improved varieties of radicchio (e.g., Rosso di Verona) and generally milder winters allow the West European cultivator to harvest two or more crops from a single planting.