As San Marino is a

microstate A microstate or ministate is a sovereign state having a very small population or very small land area, usually both. However, the meanings of "state" and "very small" are not well-defined in international law.Warrington, E. (1994). "Lilliputs ...

completely

landlocked A landlocked country is a country that does not have territory connected to an ocean or whose coastlines lie on endorheic basins. There are currently 44 landlocked countries and 4 landlocked de facto states. Kazakhstan is the world's largest ...

by Italy, Sammarinese cuisine is strongly similar to Italian cuisine, especially that of the adjoining Emilia-Romagna and

Marche Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...

regions. San Marino's primary agricultural products are cheese, wine and livestock, and

cheesemaking Cheesemaking (or caseiculture) is the craft of making cheese. The production of cheese, like many other food preservation processes, allows the nutritional and economic value of a food material, in this case milk, to be preserved in concentrat ...

is a primary economic activity in San Marino. San Marino participated in The Exposition Universelle of 1889, a world's fair held in Paris, France, with three exhibits of oils and cheese.

Dishes

Local savoury dishes include ''fagioli con le cotiche'', a Christmas bean and bacon soup; ''pasta e ceci'', a

chickpea The chickpea or chick pea (''Cicer arietinum'') is an annual legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. Its different types are variously known as gram" or Bengal gram, garbanzo or garbanzo bean, or Egyptian pea. Chickpea seeds are high ...

and noodle soup with

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

and rosemary; ''nidi di rondine'', a baked pasta dish with smoked ham, beef, cheese, and a tomato sauce; and roast rabbit with fennel. ''Erbazzone'' is a spinach-based dish that includes cheese and onions. There is a dish found mostly in Borgo Maggiore called a ''piada'', which consists of

flatbread A flatbread is a bread made with flour; water, milk, yogurt, or other liquid; and salt, and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are unleavened, although some are leavened, such as pizza and pita bread. Flatbreads ran ...

with various fillings and is somewhat similar to a

piadina ''Piadina'' or ''piada'' is a thin Italian flatbread, typically prepared in the Romagna historical region (Forlì, Cesena, Ravenna and Rimini). It is usually made with white flour, lard or olive oil, salt and water. The dough was traditional ...

from Emilia-Romagna.

Desserts and sweets

Sweets include a cake known as ''

Torta Tre Monti Torta Tre Monti (from it, “three mountain cake”) is a traditional Sammarinese cake made of layers of thin waffled wafers cemented together by chocolate or hazelnut crème. The final product is covered in chocolate fondant. It is similar ...

'' ("Cake of the Three Mountains/Towers"), based on

The Three Towers of San Marino ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

and similar to a layered wafer cake covered in chocolate; ''Torta Titano'', a layered dessert made with biscuit, hazelnuts, chocolate, cream and coffee, also inspired by San Marino's central mountain,

Monte Titano Monte Titano ("Mount Titan") is a mountain of the Apennines and the highest peak in San Marino. It stands above sea level and is located immediately to the east of the capital, San Marino. It was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008 ...

; ''

Bustrengo ''Bustrengo'', also called ''bustrèng'', is a cake dish in Romagnol and Sammarinese cuisine and a traditional Christmas dish in the Republic of San Marino, in the provinces of Forlì-Cesena and Rimini, which are in Emilia-Romagna. It is consu ...

'', a traditional Christmas cake made with honey, nuts and dried fruit; ''Verretta'', a dessert made of hazelnuts, praline and chocolate wafers; ''Cacciatello'', a dessert made with milk, sugar and eggs, similar to Crème caramel; and ''zuppa di ciliegie'', cherries stewed in sweetened red wine and served on white bread.

Alcoholic beverages

Wine

The region also produces a number of wines such as Brugneto and Tessano (cask-aged red wines) and Biancale and Roncale (still white wines). Wine in San Marino is regulated by the San Marino Wine Association, which is also a large-scale wine producer.

Spirits

Its

liqueur A liqueur (; ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged beyond ...

s include the aniseed-flavoured Mistrà, the truffle-flavoured Tilus and the herbal Tamir Shachar

References

External links

San Marino Food and Drink
World Travel Guide. {{Mediterranean cuisine