Why Italy is Great for Coeliacs

Italy is a paradise for coeliacs and I will explain why.

I love travelling so when I was diagnosed with coeliac disease, I was confronted with the reality that travelling was going to be more challenging. In many parts of the world, coeliac disease is rare and therefore knowledge of the disease is also rare.

I was thrilled to find out that in Italy is great for coeliacs. There is an abundance of gluten free options in many restaurants and wide spread knowledge of cross contamination.

It is because of the ease of meeting my dietary requirements in Italy that I began learning the Italian language. I have now visited Naples, Pompei, Rome, Bari and Matera. In this blog post, I detail the ease of each city for finding gluten free food.

In the 1980’s, Italy began testing all school children for coeliac disease and since then knowledge of the disease in restaurants and in society has grown enormously. You’ll find gluten free bakeries, knowledgeable waiters and even a fantastic gluten free choice in supermarkets.

If you like history, you will love Matera. Inhabited continuously from the Paleolithic ages to the present day, the city has an incredible history. Up until the 1950’s most of the city lived in caves, called Sassi, which have today been restored as a UNESCO world heritage site.

Despite being only a small city, it is the best place I have visited in Italy for a gluten free diet. Matera has a gluten free bakery, gluten free pizza takeaway restaurant and gluten free restaurant. In addition there are options offered at other restaurants in the city.

The city is wonderful to visit and whilst it is a small city, the number of gluten free eateries is an excellent example of why Italy is great for coeliacs.

Lotty

A gluten free and dairy free bakery with biscuits, sweet treats, pizza slices and pastries. I visited several times and tried as many of their goods as I could. I highly recommend it!

Puro | Il senza glutine di Sara

A pizza takeaway that is 100% gluten free. I wish this business existed in my home town! It was amazing to find a pizza takeaway designed for coeliacs. The pizza’s were fantastic and the staff were friendly. They also offer handmade gluten free biscuits packaged in giftware.

I Sapori Senza Glutine

Another 100% gluten free establishment. The owner told me he has run the restaurant for many years. This expertise is shown in the dishes, which are delicious. You can try local dishes and traditional Italian dishes here without worrying about cross contamination because the whole restaurant is gluten free.

As the capital city of Puglia in southern Italy, Bari is a great base to explore the beautiful small towns of Puglia from. Bari is my favourite city I have visited in Italy. The people were friendly and welcoming.

The city has lots to do without being too chaotic. The old town is charming, the seafront boulevard is a relaxing place for a walk and for a coeliac there are many gluten free options too.

In terms of fully gluten free establishments, there is a pastry shop, a bistro cafe and a supermarket. There are many other restaurants and ice cream shops that are not 100% gluten free but do offer gluten free options.

La Gouterie

In a central location, near to the train station, this bakery is a paradise for someone on a gluten free diet. A big range of freshly-baked biscuits, chocolates, cakes, pastries, pizza slices and more. There are tables inside and outside the pastry shop, or you can take the food away to eat on the go.

Colibrio | Bar Pasticceria Bistrot Gluten Free

A popular cafe near the old town with gluten free cakes and pastries. There are chairs and tables outside. Surrounded by palm trees and set back from the road, it is a great place to relax and watch the world go by. They also sell a good range of packaged gluten free items like pasta and snacks.

Ristorante Pizzeria Al Raffaello anche GlutenFree

Whilst the restaurant is not 100% gluten free, the restaurant has a fantastic gluten free range and is definitely worth a visit. You will find outstanding pizzas, traditional dishes and an extensive wine menu. They also have short term rental apartments for tourists.

L’isola Dei celiaci

A 100% gluten free supermarket in the centre of Bari. The shop has an extensive range of products, including items that are very difficult to find gluten free.

If you are a coeliac visiting Rome, I recommend staying near Roma Termini station because there are great gluten free options in the area and it is easy to travel from there to other parts of the city. At Roma Termini there is a bus station, train station and a metro stop with two metro lines. However, the whole city does have plenty of gluten free options.

Mama Eat

This is a chain with 3 restaurants in Rome – near the vatican, in the popular quarter Trastevere and Ponte Milvio. It amazed me that gluten free dishes are prepared in a separate kitchen so there is less chance of cross contamination. There are extensive gluten free options and the food is very tasty.

La Pasticciera

A small bakery near the largest train station in Rome, Roma Termini. It is 100% gluten free and the baked goods are outstanding. I thoroughly recommend trying the pastries and sweet treats here. I visited several times and I noticed it is popular with the locals.

Pasta In Corso

Despite being in the historic centre of Rome, the prices at this pasta restaurant are very reasonable. There are many gluten free options including pasta and desserts. The staff are very helpful and knowledgeable about gluten.

Pancakes Natural Lab

Located near the Colosseum, this fast food restaurant has gluten free pancakes in a variety of sweet flavours. It was great to find gluten free options so close to the Colosseum. I recommend using Google Maps to find it because it was down a small street that I initially missed.

Sfizio Pizzeria

Located just outside Roma Termini station, this pizza restaurant has a separate oven for gluten free pizzas with a separate menu. They warned me that they would need to warm up that oven so there is a delay for gluten free pizzas but it was worth the wait!

Osteria Macondo

Also situated near Roma Termini station, this popular restaurant has excellent gluten free options and I found the staff to be very helpful.

Napoleoni Gluten Free – Rome

The gluten free section is a separate small counter inside a large bakery. It has really tasty gluten free treats and pastries. It is located next to Colli Albani station.

Glummy – Gluten free delights

Unfortunately I didn’t get the chance to visit this bakery but the reviews are very good and the bakery is 100% gluten free.

Cimarra 4 Pizzeria & Cocktail Bar (anche Senza Glutine)

Another 100% gluten free establishment that I didn’t get a chance to visit in Rome but the reviews are outstanding and it is located near the Roman Forum.

Sans De Blé – Pasticceria senza glutine e senza lattosio

A gluten free and dairy free bakery with freshly made produce.

A beautiful city in the south of Italy that is certainly worth visiting, Naples has a great selection of gluten free restaurants, bakeries and supermarkets. The city is very hilly so I recommend using public transport to reach these places if they are a long distance away.

Leopoldo Cafebar – Senza Glutine

Beautifully presented gluten free pastries, sweet treats and baked goods. There is seating inside and outside, or you can take the food away.

GROM

In the centre of Naples, this ice cream shop has many gluten free options and they are delicious!

Zero Zero Grano

A completely gluten free restaurant that also has many vegan options.

Umberto

A classy restaurant with traditional Italian dishes and excellent gluten free options. It is a more expensive restaurant but I really enjoyed the dishes and I recommend it.

Mama Eat – Napoli

Another restaurant that is part of the Mama Eat chain. I didn’t eat at the Naples restaurant but I visited two Mama Eat restaurants in Rome, where there was an abundance of gluten free dishes that were very tasty.

Siani Senza Glutine

A 100% gluten free bakery with a vast choice of pastries and sweet treats. It is at top of a steep hill but there are also buses that go there from the centre of Naples.

Pizzaioli Veraci

This was the first pizza I had in Italy and it is a memory I won’t forget. The restaurant has a vast choice of gluten free pizzas and they even have gluten free Italian beer.

CeliachiaShop Arenella

A gluten free supermarket with an extensive range of food products including bread, snacks, biscuits and more. It was the first gluten free supermarket I had ever visited and I was amazed by the number of products I could buy gluten free.

Whilst I thoroughly recommend visiting Pompei for the historical sites, I found it difficult to find gluten free food there. At the time I could only find one restaurant that had good gluten free options (Alleria Pizzeria Newpolitana) but it was very busy so I had to wait a long time for a table.

If you go to Pompei, I recommend taking some snacks to ensure you don’t go hungry during the day and I also recommend reserving a table at the restaurant I mentioned.

I am coeliac
Sono celiaco (for men) / celiaca (for women)

Without gluten
Senza glutine

Do you have gluten free dishes?
Avete i piatti senza glutine?

Is this dish gluten free?
Questo piatto è senza glutine?

I must eat without gluten
Devo mangiare senza glutine

Do you have gluten free ice cream?
Avete il gelato senza glutine?

If you are learning Italian, we have a large selection of Italian language learning books, fiction books in Italian and children’s books in Italian.

If you are grocery shopping in a supermarket in Italy, you can check the food labels for the words “senza glutine”, which means “without gluten”. Italy has strict food labelling laws but we recommend only eating packaged foods with “senza glutine” written on the packaging to be on the safe side.

Fortunately, Italian supermarkets cater very well to coeliacs. If you are unsure, I have found the staff to always be helpful when I ask “Avete il cibo senza glutine?”, which means “Do you have gluten free food?”.

They usually reply that they do have gluten free food and they ask me what type of food I am looking for. For example, you might reply “la colazione” (breakfast), “i dolci” (sweets and desserts) or “snack” (snacks).

In Italy there is a gluten free certification symbol, which is a crossed grain symbol but I still recommend looking for the words “senza glutine”.

One of my biggest disappointments when I was diagnosed with coeliac disease was the realisation that travel would become more complicated.

I love travelling but the anxiety of trying to find gluten free food in an unfamiliar place is stressful. I discovered that Italy is great for coeliacs and it opened the door to one of the best holiday destinations on the planet for anyone, but especially for coeliacs.

I believe it is good to learn some of the language when you visit another country on vacation. Before arriving for my holiday in Naples, I was learning Italian to make the trip more fun and to build my confidence with finding gluten free food there.

When I arrived in Italy, I was shocked to find so many gluten free options available in restaurants and supermarkets. There were even exclusively gluten free bakeries that made foods I had never seen gluten free before.

I enjoyed the trip so much I decided to continue learning Italian because the gluten free options were so good and because I love the language.

For more information you can read my article about how I learnt Italian or view our Italian language learning books.

Italy is a perfect holiday destination if you are coeliac because there are many restaurants with a high awareness of the disease and there are many gluten free places such as specialist bakeries and supermarkets.

From personal experience, I recommend Bari, Rome, Matera and Naples for the ease of finding gluten free food in these cities. I always do research beforehand to map out the best spots in the city for eating and then find accommodation near to those places.

I find that Google maps is especially good for planning because you can label restaurants and bakeries that offer gluten free food. Search the google maps reviews for ‘gluten’ or ‘glutine’ to find what other people are saying about the gluten free options at a restaurant.