When "Mangia: How to Eat Your Way Through Italy" hit bookstores worldwide in March 2025, it marked author Maria Pasquale’s most ambitious work to date. She describes it as "a lifetime's worth of meals and conversations."
Drawing on her Italian-Australian heritage and having lived in Rome since 2011, Maria Pasquale brings an insider-outsider perspective that distinguishes her work from competitors.
Her formal political science and history background adds academic rigor to her culinary observations. At the same time, her extensive journalistic credentials, including contributions to USA Today, CNN, Condé Nast publications, and The Sydney Morning Herald, have established her as a trusted authority on Italian food and culture.
Beyond Pizza and Pasta
"Mangia" distinguishes itself from other Italian cookbooks by refusing to reduce the country's cuisine to its most familiar exports. The book meticulously documents over 600 dishes across Italy's 20 regions, each with distinct culinary identities Pasquale argues are as different as separate countries.
Each chapter delves into a region's food history, signature dishes, drink pairings, and local festivals. Readers learn why risotto tastes better in the north, why Italians never serve authentic Bolognese sauce with spaghetti, how couscous became a typical dish in parts of Sicily, and why Tuscans traditionally make bread without salt.
The Feast of Festivals
One of the book's most valuable contribution is its focus on sagre, local food festivals that celebrate specific regional produce. Pasquale documents more than 200 of these events; international travelers do not know about many of them.
"Every weekend across Italy, there are hundreds of sagre celebrating everything from chestnuts to figs, beer to cheese," she explains. "The pistachio festival in Bronte, Sicily, is incredible. But many smaller sagre do not appear in online advertisements—you discover them through posters in town or conversations with locals."
This insider knowledge represents what Pasquale describes as "the beating heart of Italian food culture," offering readers access to authentic experiences that most tourists never encounter. The book's detailed calendar of food festivals provides a year-round itinerary for culinary travelers seeking immersion in local traditions.
Experiences Beyond Eating
"Mangia" goes beyond dish recommendations to showcase more than 100 unique culinary experiences across Italy. These range from foraging and forest bathing in Umbria to liquorice and bergamot tasting in Calabria, glamping in an ancient Sardinian olive grove, or taking a cocktail masterclass on the island of Ischia.
For those unable to travel immediately, the book includes 20 recipes that accomplished chefs, who run some of the world's most prestigious kitchens, have written. These dishes, which the author carefully selected, represent the essence of each region, so readers can bring authentic Italian flavors into their own homes.
Recognition and Authority
Pasquale's proficiency has earned her significant recognition in Italy, a rare achievement for a non-native writer. In 2021, Italy's La Repubblica newspaper named her one of Rome's most influential travel experts, while Corriere della Sera selected her in 2023 to speak at one of their conventions as one of Italy's most prominent women in food. These accolades reflect Pasquale's unique perspective as both an insider and an outsider. Her Italian heritage provides cultural fluency, while her international background allows her to interpret Italian traditions for a global audience. This dual perspective distinguishes her work from competitors like The Pasta Queen and Pasta Grannies, who focus on narrower aspects of Italian cuisine.
A Lifetime at the Table
Another feature that separates "Mangia" from other Italian food guides is its foundation in personal experience. Pasquale describes the book as "a 40-year journey" and "a distillation of a lifetime's worth of meals and conversations with chefs, vintners, olive growers, cheesemakers, restaurateurs, culinary journalists, and many others who work with food, or who just love it."
This depth of experience informs every page, from practical advice on dining etiquette to reflections on food's role in Italian culture. "Food is the way to Italy's heart," Pasquale writes in the book's introduction. "And Mangia will guide you to that very centre, inviting you on a delectable journey that will nourish, inspire and absorb my contagious passion for a country that has always expressed its love through food and always will." As "Mangia" finds its place on bookshelves worldwide, Pasquale continues her work as a cultural ambassador, introducing new generations to the authentic flavors of Italy's twenty regions. For readers planning their next Italian adventure or simply dreaming of Mediterranean meals from afar, Pasquale's lifetime of culinary exploration offers both inspiration and practical guidance, proof of the enduring appeal of Italy's regional food traditions.
