Without a doubt, staying at an agriturismo is one of the best ways to enjoy authentic and delicious local food and wine. But which are the best regions when it comes to farmhouse cuisine?

We’ve looked through thousands of your reviews and identified the 5 regions with the highest restaurant ratings. Here they are, along with our suggestions of three things you simply must try in each one!  

Pronti? Your mouth will be watering by the end… don’t say we didn’t warn you!

5^th place: Marche

Cremini: cremini marchigiani are little squares of custard... fried to perfection! You can enjoy them alone, or do as the locals do, and eat them as part of a fritto misto all’ascolana with various types of fried meat, vegetables and stuffed Ascolana olives.

Olive all’ascolana: we’ve already mentioned the fritto misto all’ascolana, but we simply have to give the queens of this dish their very own place on our list. Nowadays you can find olive all’ascolana all over Italy, but rest assured, the ones you eat in Marche will be an entirely different experience!

Ciauscolo: Ciauscolo is a typical Marche salami, with one special feature: you can spread it! Its soft texture makes it the perfect topping for toasted bread and bruschetta… simple yet savory dishes that you simply must try if you’re in the region

4^th place: Trentino Alto Adige

Bretzel: bretzel, or pretzels, are a very popular type of bread in Alto Adige, as well as in other German-speaking countries. Do you know how their characteristic flavour is created? They’re bathed in an alkaline solution (such as water and bicarbonate) before being baked in the oven! Who knew?

Canederli: canederli, or knödel, are large dumplings made from stale bread, milk and egg, poached in broth and usually served with cured meats and cheese. Traditionally they were a peasant dish, created to use up leftovers, but now they are a specialty to be enjoyed at the finest agriturismi!

Strudel: is there anyone who hasn't heard of strudel? Flaky pastry stuffed with a delicious fruit filling, available in a range of flavours... the most traditional being apple with cinnamon and pine nuts. Strange but true: you might think that strudel originates from northern Europe, but it’s actually thought to have come from Turkey where they still enjoy a very similar dessert known as baclava

3^rd place: Friuli Venezia Giulia

Frico: probably the Friuli region's most well-known delicacy, this is a dish made from cheese, potatoes and butter cooked in a frying pan. Even just reading about it will spark your appetite!

Cjarsons: a typical recipe from the mountainous region of Carnia, which can now be found throughout Friuli. This dish has a traditional shape (similar to agnolotti, a rectangular ravioli from Piedmont), but with a completely unique flavour that plays on the contrast between sweet and savoury. Pasta sheets are folded over a filling of raisins, cinnamon, cocoa, ricotta, chives and various other ingredients which change from town to town.

Gulash triestino: Trieste has always been a meeting point for different people and cultures, and its culinary traditions also include dishes originally from Hungary, like goulash. Made from beef, onions, tomato sauce and paprika, gulash triestino is dryer than the Hungarian version and makes for a tasty stew.

2^nd place: Basilicata

Canestrato di Moliterno: an excellent certified IGP cheese made from a mixture of sheep and goat’s milk. Fun fact: the cheese is named “Canestrato” because its shape is created by hand-pressing the cheese inside canestre, or wicker baskets, which leave their imprints on the mature molds!

Meat: in Basilicata you can enjoy the finest meats prepared slightly differently... At many butcher’s you can order a cut, and they will cook and serve it to you right in the shop!

Aglianico del Vulture: this is a DOC red wine produced exclusively in Basilicata at the foot of Mount Vulture. Tasty tidbit: Aglianico del Vulture was one of just 15 Italian wines selected in 2012 to be featured in a series of stamps dedicated to Italy’s finest food and wines.

1^st place: Aosta Valley

Fontina: it’s easy to imagine how excellent cheese comes from the green pastures of the Aosta Valley. The most famous is certainly fontina, a certified DOP cheese produced solely in this region. One of the best ways to enjoy it? Definitely with polenta!

Seupa à la Vapelenentse: fontina is also one of the main ingredients of this Valtellina soup - a traditional peasant dish prepared by alternating slices of stale white bread and fontina cheese…. A delicacy for true foodies!