Urbino Food and Wine

Urbino’s delicious cuisine is characterized by its excellent location. The city has world famous culinary destinations on nearly all sides, with Tuscany and Umbria to the west and Emilia-Romagna to the north. Like other countryside areas of Italy, its recipes and cooking styles are rooted in peasant tradition and feature ingredients that can be found in the wild, such as game meat, mushrooms, herbs, and nuts.

Travelers can expect simple, yet flavorful dishes prepared in traditional ways with local products. Neighbors Tuscany and Umbria give Urbino’s cuisine a rustic influence while Emilia-Romagna gives it a rich, more decadent profile.

White and black truffles are found in the area surrounding Urbino, so these indulgent flavors are used in a variety of local dishes.

The city is home to a wide range of specialty food shops where travelers can purchase local products such as locally made cheeses, cured meats such as prosciutto, handmade pasta, and locally produced wines.

APPETIZERS  

The most common appetizer in Urbino is an assortment of local cheeses and meats. From cold cuts to fresh sausages, expect appetizers in the region of Marche to be very meat-centered.

The local cheese of choice for many in Urbino is its signature DOP cheese called casciotta d’Urbino. This cheese is made of 70-80% sheep milk and 20-30% cow milk. The flavor is sweet, yet slightly acidic. Pecorino cheese is also a popular variety in the region of Marche, and it is made with sheep milk.

Though not native to Urbino, a unique appetizer that can be found at local restaurants is olive all’ascolana – stuffed olives which are breaded and fried. This dish hails from Ascoli Piceno in the southern part of the Marche region.

FIRST COURSE

Each area of Italy has its own unique varieties of pasta. In the city of Urbino, this special pasta is known as passatelli. Though it is made very similarly to regular pasta, it features a different ingredient compared to most pasta doughs: cheese. Instead of flour, which is typically the base for most pasta doughs, pasatelli uses half breadcrumbs and half Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, as its base. The breadcrumbs and cheese are mixed together with eggs to form the dough, then the pasta is shaped into long, thick cylinders using a special instrument. While passatelli can be served as a traditional pasta (topped with sauce, truffle, porcini mushrooms, seafood, or meat) it is best served in the traditional way – in broth. The dough is boiled and then served hot with seasoned broth, typically capon or chicken, though beef broth or fish broth may be used as well.

Another pasta dish popular in Marche is vincisgrassi. Very similar to lasagna, vincisgrassi is made of egg pasta that is shaped into thin sheets and layered between a chopped meat sauce and a white sauce seasoned with cloves and nutmeg. Additional Marche pasta dishes to try in Urbino are local staples such as tagliatelle al ragù (duck ragù is popular in the Marche region), cappelletti in brodo (handmade pasta stuffed with stewed meat, herbs, and cheese served in broth) and strozzapreti (a tube-shaped pasta served with local vegetables and meats such as asparagus, artichokes, sausage, or tomatoes).

One handmade pasta native to Urbino is called lumachelle. This unique pasta is shaped like a cylinder with lines on the surface. The traditional way to serve this pasta is known as lumachelle all’urbinate. In this case, the pasta is served in broth with turnips, cabbage, sauteed tomatoes, sausage, and chicken offal.

Other starch dishes served in the first course include risotto, which is often made with seasonal truffles – a main delicacy of the area.

SECOND COURSE

After enjoying local cheeses and filling pasta dishes, be sure to save room for signature meat dishes of Urbino.

Throughout the city, travelers will find a variety of dishes made with cacciagione, or wild game meat. From wild boar to rabbit, the area of Marche is known for its prime game dishes. Whether served roasted or macerated into a thick, delicious meat sauce, wild game meat offers a depth of flavor unparalleled by other meats.

One of Urbino’s typical recipes is coniglio in porchetta. This dish is made of roasted rabbit and can be found commonly throughout the Marche region. The rabbit is first washed thoroughly and then stuffed with a mixture of wild fennel, garlic, lard, and seasonings, before being wrapped in pancetta then roasted slowly for several hours.

SIDE DISHES

Urbino’s local cuisine is usually accompanied by fresh, in-season vegetables, such as cabbage, that can be steamed, sauteed, or roasted. Additionally, roasted potatoes are a common accompaniment to meat dishes.

STREET FOOD

Many Italian cities have a regional form of flatbread that is enjoyed via street carts and street side cafes. In Urbino, it is known as crescia sfogliata. This bread is a variation on the popular flatbread piadina, from nearby Romagna. Crescia is made from a dough comprising flour, eggs, salt, and pepper. After being left to rise, the dough is rolled into a very thin sheet and topped with lard. It is this step that sets crescia apart from other flatbreads. Layers of thin sheets of dough are arranged on top of one another, creating a delicate, flakey, soft bread.

Crescia is best served hot and is often served as street food by being stuffed with cured meats, cheeses, vegetables, or a combination of all three. In addition to being served on the streets of Urbino, it can be enjoyed at the start of a meal or in between meals as a delicious snack.

DESSERTS

To round out the meal, travelers can enjoy a variety of pastries, including full-sized cakes and mini petit fours. Of course, gelato is an Italian staple, so be sure to swing by a local gelateria to taste handmade gelato crafted from seasonal ingredients.

One of Urbino’s most characteristic local desserts is made for Easter and is known as crescia di Pasqua, or pizza di Pasqua. This tall cake is made from sugar and candied fruits, while the top is covered with a merengue glaze and sprinkles. A savory version can be enjoyed as breakfast or as an appetizer on Easter and features eggs, flour, Pecorino, and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

WINE

For centuries, the wine region of Marche remained relatively undiscovered. Its location between the Apennine Mountain range and the Adriatic Sea made it hard to access. However, with today’s modern technology and transportation, the region has become one of Italy’s last remaining wine regions that has yet to be overrun by tourists.

A hidden gem, the Marche region is known by wine connoisseurs as the “New Tuscany,” teeming with wine varietals that are great tasting, of high quality, and yet will not break the bank.

Some of the best local wines to try are Sangiovese dei Colli Pesaresi, Bianchello del Metauro, Tristo di Montesecco, and Vernaccia del Cesano.

Urbino’s simple yet delicious cuisine features a variety of ingredients unique to the area. With casciotta cheese, passatelli in brodo, wild game, and crescia sfogliata, Urbino can certainly hold its own against Italy’s more famous culinary areas, such as the neighboring regions of Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna.

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