A similar soup, called zanzarelli, was described by Martino da Como in his 15th-century manual The Art of Cooking.

[1][2] Stracciatella alla romana is traditionally prepared by beating eggs and mixing in grated Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg, lemon zest, and sometimes semolina; this mixture is then gently drizzled into boiling meat broth, while stirring so as to produce little shreds (stracciatelle) of cooked egg in the soup.

[3] The resulting soup can be served in bowls containing a few thin slices of toasted bread, with additional parmesan grated on top.

[8][n 1] The traditional preparation of stracciatella is also rather similar to that of sciusceddu, a rich festive soup from Messina, Sicily, that may be a cousin of the Roman dish.

[9][n 2] Stracciatella soup inspired the gelato flavour of the same name, which was created in 1961 by a restaurateur in the northern city of Bergamo, who claimed he had grown tired of stirring eggs into broth to satisfy customers from Rome.