Gluten Free Dining in Italy

Not a week goes by that a Parker Villas guest seeks our assistance with specific dietary requirements while vacationing in Italy. This week's focus is on enjoying Italy on a Gluten Free diet. The first and easiest thing to do is copy and paste the following message on a card and show it to the waiter if you are not sure what they serve:

Gentile Ristoratore,
Sono affetto da CELIACHIA (intolleranza al glutine). Devo fare una dieta assolutamente priva di glutine. Qualsiasi cibo contenente farina di grano, orzo segale e avena puo causarmi gravi malori. Se non e sicuro, la prego di dirmelo. Posso mangiare cibi contenenti di carne, pesce, granturco, riso, patate, verdura, frutta, uova, formaggio e latte purche non siano preparate con aggiunta di farina, pane grattugiato, o salsa legata con farina o pastella fatta con farina.
Grazie 

The above message reads: Dear Restaurateur, I am affected by Celiac disease (gluten intolerance). My diet must be completely free of gluten. Any food containing wheat flour, barley rye and oats can cause me serious illness. If you are not sure, please tell me. I can eat foods containing meat, fish, corn, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, eggs, cheese and milk as long as they are not prepared with the addition of flour, breadcrumbs or sauce linked to flour or batter made with flour. Thank you

The second thing to do is to visit Italy's comprehensive guide to gluten free restaurants nationwide. The site is in Italian but here are the essentials:

1. Click the region you will be visiting on the left hand side of the home page. (for Rome click Lazio, for Florence click Tuscany)

2. The next page is sorted by provinces within that region. Scroll down to the cities of your choice. Next to city names are code letters: H for hotel, R for restaurant, P for pizzeria, Tr for trattoria. Next to the code is the name of the establishment. Click on each establishment name for addresses, web sites and even maps in some cases.

Buon appetito!