Travelling gluten free in Italy

Are you going on a holiday to Italy and looking for the best gluten-free spots? Look no further! We have gathered all necessary information for gluten free in Italy in one easy overview.

Italian coeliac dietary explanation

Italian

Sono affetto da celiachia (intolleranza al glutine), devo seguire una dieta assolutamente priva di glutine.

Qualsiasi cibo contenente farina/amido di grano (frumento), segale, orzo, avena, farro, spelta, kamut e triticale può causarmi gravi malori. Mi può dire se questo piatto li contiene? Se non è sicuro degli ingredienti di questa pietanza la prego di informarsi in cucina e di dirmelo.

Posso mangiare cibi contenenti riso, granoturco (mais), patate, qualsiasi verdura e frutta, uova, formaggio, latte, carne e pesce purché non siano stati preparati con l’aggiunta delle farine a me vietate, pangrattato, pastella, crostini di pane o salse fatte con amidi e farine a me vietati.

Mi raccomando, anche piccole tracce di glutine sono pericolose per la mia salute! È importante quindi utilizzare pentole pulite, mescolare con cucchiai che non siano stati utilizzati per mescolare cibi con glutine, non riutilizzare l’acqua o l’olio di cottura di preparazioni con glutine.

Grazie per il suo aiuto, è molto importante!

English

I suffer from celiac disease (gluten intolerance), I must follow a strictly gluten-free diet.

Any food containing flour/starch from wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, spelt, kamut and triticale can cause me serious illness. Can you tell me if this dish contains them? If you are not sure about the ingredients of this dish, please inquire in the kitchen and tell me.

I can eat foods containing rice, corn, potatoes, any vegetables and fruit, eggs, cheese, milk, meat and fish as long as they have not been prepared with the addition of forbidden flours, breadcrumbs, batter, croutons or sauces made with forbidden starches and flours.

Please remind, even small traces of gluten are dangerous for my health! It is therefore important to use clean pans, mix with spoons that have not been used to mix foods with gluten, and to not reuse cooking water or oil from preparations with gluten.

Where to find gluten-free food in Italy

In Italy, finding gluten free food got a lot easier in the past few years. It is now possible to find gluten free products in almost every supermarket and in many pharmacies. You will also find some specialised shops, which sell a great variety of gluten free food. If you don’t know if a product is safe to eat, check if it contains the “senza glutine” label. The product is also safe if it contains the crossed grain symbol or if it is in the Italian society’s list of certified products (Prontuario degli alimenti, available online and on the AIC mobile app).

Please remember that a product can be safe and gluten free even if it is not in our list, but has the “senza glutine” label and/or the crossed grain symbol.

Gluten-free restaurants in Italy

The Italian Coeliac Association has a project dedicated to eat out called: Programma Alimentazione Fuori Casa (AFC). The project was born to create a network of places that can provide safe gluten free food. Nowadays, this program counts more than 4.000 units all over Italy, which are divided into the following categories:

  • Restaurants, pizzerias, cafés, pubs, wine bars and ice cream parlours
  • Bakeries and patisseries
  • Hotels, B&BS and tourist resorts
  • Sailing boats
  • Catering services

All the venues that are part of this list are considered safe because specialized volunteers and professionals are trained and checked before entering the project and periodically after its entrance. In order to access the program, the venues have to comply with high standards for preparing gluten free food and offer a minimum choice of gluten free dishes. You can identify them because they may have this logo in their main door:

You can find the list of gluten free venues on our website or on the “AIC Mobile” app. Both the online list and the app include a map!

Unfortunately, the list of places offering gluten-free food is accessible only to the members of the Italian Coeliac Association. But don’t worry! You can easily use this service thanks to the temporary version of the app: AIC Mobile Welcome. For more information, please read the next section about AIC Mobile.

AIC Mobile

AIC Mobile is the application created by the Associazione Italiana Celiachia (Italian Coeliac Society) for celiac people, their families and friends. It offers many services, including the lists of gluten free products available on the market and of the venues that can provide safe gluten free food – Alimentazione Fuori Casa (Eating Out) project.

Some of these services are for free but others, such as the latter one, are accessible only to the members of the association. Does this mean that if you are not a member of the Italian Coeliac Society there is no way to have access to these services? Of course not! It is also available a temporary version of the app valid for 15 days that is called AIC Mobile Welcome.

In order to use it, you need to download AIC Mobile and register yourself. Once you have done it, you can have access to the temporary version at a negligible cost.

You can easily download the AIC Mobile on the Apple Store or Google Play. Remember that you need to complete the registration in order to use the app. Only in this way you will receive your username and password.

  • Apple Store:

https://itunes.apple.com/it/app/aic-mobile/id393650916?mt=8

  • Google Play:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.casarini.android.aicmobile&hl=en

Italian Coeliac Society

CYE Delegates:

 

For more information about the Italian Coeliac Society, please visit:

Head office of the Italian Coeliac Society:

  • Address:Via Caffaro, 10 – 16124 Genova
  • Tel:+39 10 25 10 235
  • Fax: +39 10 844 94 04
  • Email: segreteria@celiachia.it

The Italian Coeliac Society is a federation of 20 Regional Societies. For specific information about the situation in a region don’t hesitate to contact the local society. You will find their contacts on this page: https://www.celiachia.it/dove-siamo/

Last update of this Travel Net information: September 2024