It’s fair to say that Italians have a sweet tooth. Breakfast is usually coffee and a pastry and, in the summer, Italians will head to their favorite gelateria after lunch or dinner. Traditionally, a meal consists of an antipasto, primo (pasta, soup, or rice), a secondo (a main dish, usually meat or fish), and a dolce (dessert), even if people will often choose just two or three courses at a restaurant. After school, kids usually have an afternoon snack known as a merenda that consists of something sweet like crostata (a baked tart usually made with jam or ricotta).
Italian cuisine is very regional, so you’ll find different desserts in each of the country’s 20 regions. There are even some towns known for a particular sweet. That said, some desserts like tiramisu and gelato are so widespread that you can find them all over Italy. And nearly every holiday has a dessert, like panettone for Christmas, colomba for Easter, and frappe and castagnole for Carnevale. If you have a sweet tooth, use this guide to Italy’s essential desserts and where to find them.
1. Sfogliatella
Found in pasticcerie and cafés around Naples and the Amalfi Coast, this flaky pastry is shaped a bit like a seashell or a lobster tail (there’s a version called coda d’aragosta, or lobster tail) and filled with ricotta scented with citrus peel and cinnamon. There are two versions: either made with frolla (smooth) or riccia (curly) dough. Legend has it that they were invented by a nun at the cloistered convent of Santa Rosa in the village of Conca dei Marini on the Amalfi Coast.
Where to find it: Now a luxury hotel, Monastero Santa Rosa still serves sfogliatella for breakfast in homage to the nun’s original recipe. Another excellent place to get it is the historic Pasticceria Andrea Pansa in Amalfi.
Cooked cream never looked so good.
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2. Panna cotta
Literally translating to “cooked cream,” this soft, silky pudding is as simple as it gets. The main ingredients are heavy cream, sugar, vanilla, and gelatin, which get blended and then set in a refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. It’s believed to originate in Piedmont, though it didn’t enter the mainstream until the 1960s. Often garnished with a fruit coulis or perhaps fresh fruit, panna cotta is available in restaurants and hotels across Italy.
Where to find it: Just in from the River Amo near Ponte Santa Trinita is osteria Cinghiale Bianco, where a little round of panna cotta comes either with macerated berries, chocolate, or caramel.
Cannoli began life in Sicily but are now ubiquitous across Italy.
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3. Cannoli
One of Italy’s best-known desserts, cannoli (the singular is cannolo) originated in Sicily, but now are available all over the country and beyond. The tube-shaped dessert is made of fried pastry dough filled with whipped ricotta sweetened with sugar and candied orange. You’ll sometimes see versions featuring pistachios, chocolate chips, or candied cherries. The origin can be traced back to the 10th or 11th century, when Arabs ruled Sicily, with one legend saying that cannoli were invented in a Moorish harem as a vaguely phallic tribute to the sultan, while another legend attributes their invention to the nuns of a convent in Caltanissetta.
Where to find it: Look for them at Sicilian pastry shops, such as Pasticceria Cappello, which has two branches in Palermo.
Tiramisu satisfies a sweet tooth and gives you a little pick-me-up from the espresso.
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4. Tiramisu
Perhaps the most iconic Italian dessert, tiramisu appears on menus at restaurants not only throughout Italy but also all over the world. An irresistible combination of layers of coffee-soaked savoiardi (ladyfinger biscuits) and mascarpone whipped with sugar and eggs, topped with cocoa powder, it’s either served as slices like a cake or in individual glasses or cups. Its origins are hotly contested between the regions of Veneto and Friuli–Venezia Giulia, although the Italian government has officially recognized it as a product of Friuli—a bit surprising since its name translates to “pick-me-up” in the dialect of Veneto. Countless variations have been born, from matcha tiramisu to deconstructed tiramisu. It’s usually eaten at the end of a meal, although bakeries sometimes sell individual portions so you can enjoy a little caffeine boost if jet lag starts to hit.
Where to find it: Bar Pompi is the self-declared king of tiramisu and has versions flavored with strawberry, pistachio, or hazelnut as well as the classic tiramisu. It has five locations in Rome (including one near the Spanish Steps and another near the Trevi Fountain), plus a location in Florence.
In the heat of an Italian summer, especially in the south, nothing is more refreshing than granita.
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5. Granita
Aside from gelato, granita is the best way to cool down during the heat of a Sicilian summer. Made with water, sugar, and fruit or nuts, it’s slowly frozen and stirred continuously, resulting in a consistency somewhere between the creaminess of gelato and the granularity of sorbet. In past centuries, it was made with the snow that fell on Mount Etna and derives from the Iranian drink sharbat, made with rose water. You’ll find dozens of flavors, but the most traditional ones are almond, pistachio, coffee, and lemon. Sicilians start their day by dunking a brioche into granita for breakfast, but it can be eaten throughout the day.
Where to find it: Caffè Sicilia in Noto serves a superlative version, but you can find it all over Sicily at gelaterias and little food trucks parked near popular beaches.
The rich chocolate base that bonet provides can be complemented with nuts and fruit for more crunch and flavor.
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6. Bonet
This rich, chocolate pudding is served throughout Piedmont, especially in the Langhe hills around Alba. It’s made like a crème caramel, with crumbled amaretti cookies, eggs, sugar, cocoa, milk, and rum. It’s sometimes served with hazelnuts, which grow in the region. The exact origins of bonet are unknown, but there are references to a chocolate-less version being served at noble banquets during the 13th century. Cocoa was added sometime after the European conquest of South America.
Where to find it: Turin’s Farmacia del Cambio is an elegant bar/pasticceria inside a pharmacy that dates back to 1833. The service is brusque, but it’s one of the best places to try bonet; you’ll also see it on menus throughout the region.
It’s lemon on lemon on lemon with this dome-shaped little cake.
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7. Delizia al limone
Invented in 1978 by pastry chef Carmine Marzuillo, who worked at the hotel Parco dei Principi in Sorrento, this delightful little cake makes use of the lemons for which the area is famous. Shaped like a dome, it’s composed of sponge cake filled with lemon cream, soaked in limoncello, and topped with pale yellow icing. Usually eaten at the end of a meal, you can find it at restaurants and in pasticcerie all over the Campania region.
Where to find it: For a top-notch delizia al limone and many other sweets, head to Pepe Mastro Dolciere in the small town of Sant’Egidio del Monte Albino near Salerno.
Head to a traditional bakery in Rome for the best maritozzo.
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8. Maritozzo
A sweet that’s found almost exclusively in Rome, the maritozzo is a soft bun split down the middle and filled with whipped cream. Its origins can be traced all the way back to ancient Rome, but it became popular during the Middle Ages, when the church allowed it to be eaten during the fasting days of Lent. Its name derives from the word marito, which means husband, and during the 19th century, men would propose by hiding a ring in a maritozzo.
Where to find it: You can find traditional versions at old-school bakeries like Regoli and Roscioli Caffè, where they can be enjoyed for breakfast or as an afternoon snack.
You can’t leave Italy without trying at least two scoops of gelato.
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9. Gelato
Is ice cream the main reason to travel? Perhaps not, but it’s up there. Nowhere does it like Italy, though, where gelato is generally made with less cream and less air, thanks to a longer churn period that results in a denser dessert. Flavors and textures range from chocolatey and creamy to fruity and light, and gelaterie across the country dispense their unique spins into cups and cones. And if you can’t make it to Italy this year, here’s where to find the best gelato and ice cream across the United States.
Where to find it: If there’s one single dessert you’ll find everywhere in Italy, from the tiniest villages to tourist hotspots, it’s gelato. Try La Carraia in Florence, dei Gracchi in Rome, and La Mela Verde in Venice.
This article was originally published in 2022 and most recently updated on October 14, 2024, with current information. Tim Chester contributed reporting, mostly about ice cream.
