I’ve been to all 20 regions in Italy, but this one in the south has the country’s most diverse food scene

I love Italy for so many reasons, but the country’s incredible food probably tops that list. In my many travels to Italy’s 20 regions, I am constantly learning more about the country’s diverse cuisine, which better helps me understand regional differences, climates, and history.

However, after recently spending a month in Sicily, I can confirm that Sicily’s cuisine is the most diverse out of any other Italian region. While it’s typical for all regions to have differences between towns, Sicily has so many unique dishes based on town and province that it might as well be its own country.

Classic Sicilian dishes

very big fried rice balls made with ham and cheese also known as arancini or arancine a traditional dish from island of Sicily

(ChiccoDodiFC via Getty Images)

Sicily is credited with birthing some of the most iconic Italian dishes. Namely, Sicily is home to cannoli, an extremely popular Italian dessert. There’s also eggplant parmesan, however, in Sicily, that’s called Parmigiana di Melanzana, and is prepared completely differently than how we eat it in the states. If you order “eggplant parm” in Sicily, expect a dish of non-breaded lightly fried eggplant with layers of tomato and mozzarella.

Sicily is also home to arancine, the delicious fried rice balls, often stuffed with meat, mozzarella, and peas. Another classic dish is panelle, thin crispy fried discs of chickpea flour.

Sicilian dishes you’ve probably never heard of

Assorted sicilian starter

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The familiarity ends there. Aside from the common dishes, Sicily is home to so much. more. For example, if you head west to Trapani, you can try Busiate Trapanese, a curly pasta with a tomato and almond pesto. Then there’s kebab di tonno, which might sound like it’s simply a tuna kebab, but instead, is a sandwich of tuna, pistachio pesto, and agrodolce onions, and is mainly served on the island of Favignana.

You can’t forget about Catania’s cassatella di’Sant Agata, a pastry with a peculilar shape named after Saint Agatha, a martyr who was persecuted because she refused to marry a Roman. Her punishment was cutting her breasts off with pincers, and so, a pastry was shaped in honor of her breasts, perfectly dotted with a maraschino cherry.

The original Spaghetti O’s is also from Sicily in the form of Aneletti pasta, a ring-shaped pasta that is often baked with meat and tomatoes. And while you’ve likely heard of Sicilian pizza, you probably have have not heard of Pizza Trapanese, a doughy yet crispy pie topped with an anchovy, tomato, and onion sauce. Hey, while on the subject of pizza, have you heard of sfincione? This is yet another classic pizza from Sicily, topped with the same type of sauce and dots of smoked cheese, most commonly found in Palermo.

Every dish tells a story

Close-up of two boxes of prickly pears for sale in Ballero market in central Palermo, Sicily, with a ceramic Moor head propped up on one of the boxes. These ceramic Moorish heads are seen all over Sicily, reflecting its rich history and connection to North Africa.

(ClarkandCompany via Getty Images)

Perhaps the reason Sicilian food is so diverse is because its history is so diverse. Sicily has been home to Arabs, Vikings, and of course, Italians. This eclectic mix of cultures leads to an endless innovation of different dishes rooted in often divisive history, changing greatly based on where on the island you go. One thing is for sure, though, and that’s that if you’re coming to Sicily, you are bound to eat like a queen.