Chianina beef, handmade pici & Vin Santo — what to eat in eastern Tuscany
Arezzo eats like a place that has never needed to impress tourists. The food here is deeply rooted in the peasant traditions of eastern Tuscany — built on bread, beans, olive oil, and whatever the land provides — but elevated by the extraordinary quality of local ingredients. The Val di Chiana, stretching south towards Cortona, is home to the Chianina cattle breed, one of the oldest in the world, whose meat commands reverence across Italy. The surrounding hills produce excellent olive oil, Chianti wines, and the sun-dried grapes that become Vin Santo.
This guide covers the essential dishes, wines, and food traditions of Arezzo. Come hungry and stay at an eco hotel in Arezzo that makes your appetite carbon-neutral — every IMPT booking removes 1 tonne of CO₂.
The undisputed king of the Arezzo table. Chianina cattle are the largest breed in the world — tall, white-coated animals that have grazed the Val di Chiana since at least Etruscan times. The steak is cut thick (at least 4 cm), from the loin, producing a massive T-bone that weighs 1–1.5 kg. It is grilled over oak or olive-wood charcoal, left very rare in the centre (al sangue), and served with nothing but coarse salt, black pepper, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
In Arezzo, you are at the geographical source of genuine Chianina. Many restaurants specify the farm of origin on their menus. Expect to pay €45–60 per kilo — expensive by Italian standards, but this is not an ordinary steak. It is typically ordered to share between two people.
Pici are Arezzo's signature pasta: thick, hand-rolled strands of eggless dough, slightly irregular, with a satisfying chew. They are made with just flour, water, and a little olive oil, then rolled by hand into fat, spaghetti-like ropes. The classic preparations are pici all'aglione (with a sauce of crushed garlic cloves, tomato, and chilli) or pici al ragù (with a slow-cooked meat sauce, often made with wild boar or duck).
Every trattoria in Arezzo makes pici, and quality is consistently high. It is the dish to order on your first evening — a reminder that the simplest ingredients, handled with care, produce the most memorable food.
Ribollita means "reboiled" — a thick soup of cavolo nero (Tuscan black kale), cannellini beans, carrots, celery, onion, and stale bread, cooked slowly until it becomes almost solid, then reheated the next day. The result is part soup, part stew, deeply savory, and impossible to eat without tearing off more bread. It is quintessential Tuscan cucina povera — peasant cooking that wastes nothing.
Ribollita is at its best in the colder months (October through March), when cavolo nero is in season and the weather calls for something warming and substantial. Many restaurants serve it with a generous pour of new-season olive oil.
Acquacotta translates as "cooked water," which makes it sound like the most humble dish in Italy — and that is exactly what it was. Originally a charcoal-burner's meal made from whatever could be gathered in the forest, it has evolved into a layered soup of onions, tomatoes, celery, sometimes wild mushrooms, topped with a poached egg and served over toasted bread with grated pecorino. The egg breaks into the broth as you eat, enriching the thin soup into something silky and satisfying.
Scottiglia is eastern Tuscany's answer to the French daube — a mixed-meat stew that traditionally uses whatever is available: pork, beef, chicken, rabbit, pigeon, sometimes game. The meats are browned and slow-cooked in tomato, wine, herbs, and a base of soffritto. The result is rich, complex, and deeply autumnal. It is served over thick slices of toasted bread (fettunta) that soak up the dark sauce.
Scottiglia is most common on menus in autumn and winter. It is a dish that rewards patience — both in the kitchen and at the table.
Crostini di fegatini — Tuscan chicken liver crostini, the classic antipasto across the region. Smooth, rich, spread on unsalted Tuscan bread. In Arezzo, you'll find these at every trattoria, often served alongside a plate of local salumi.
Finocchiona — A Tuscan salami flavoured with fennel seeds, soft-textured and deeply savoury. Arezzo's version tends to be slightly more rustic than the Florentine style.
Pecorino toscano — Sheep's milk cheese ranging from soft and young (fresco) to hard and aged (stagionato). Paired with local honey and walnuts, it is a perfect way to end a meal or begin one.
Fagioli all'uccelletto — Cannellini beans slow-cooked with tomato, garlic, and sage. A common side dish for grilled meats, and deceptively simple for how good it tastes.
Arezzo falls within the Chianti DOCG zone — specifically the Colli Aretini sub-zone. The wines are Sangiovese-based, typically lighter and more approachable than Chianti Classico, with bright cherry fruit and earthy tannins. They are excellent table wines that pair naturally with the local food. Look for bottles from producers like Tenuta di Frasineto or Villa La Ripa.
South of Arezzo, the Cortona DOC zone has gained increasing recognition for Syrah — an unusual grape for Tuscany, but one that thrives in the warm Val di Chiana climate. These are structured, spicy reds that stand up to bistecca chianina.
No meal in Arezzo ends without cantucci e Vin Santo. Cantucci are crunchy almond biscuits, baked twice for maximum crunch. Vin Santo ("holy wine") is a golden dessert wine made from Trebbiano and Malvasia grapes that are dried on racks (graticci) for months before pressing, then aged in small sealed barrels (caratelli) for at least three years. The result is amber, honeyed, nutty, and perfect for dipping.
The ritual is simple: break a cantuccio, dip it in the Vin Santo, eat. Repeat until the glass is empty. It is one of Italy's great small pleasures, and Arezzo makes some of the finest Vin Santo in Tuscany.
Arezzo's restaurant scene caters primarily to locals, which means the food is good and the prices are fair. A full meal with wine at a mid-range trattoria costs €25–40 per person — significantly less than Florence or Siena.
The centro storico around Piazza Grande and Corso Italia has the highest concentration of restaurants. For the most authentic experience, look for places slightly off the main drag — the streets behind the cathedral or in the San Marco quarter tend to attract fewer tourists and more neighbourhood regulars.
Lunch is still the main meal in Arezzo. Many trattorias offer a pranzo (lunch) menu with a primo, secondo, and coffee for €12–18. This is the best value in town and the most Tuscan way to eat.
During the monthly antique fair (first Saturday and Sunday), restaurants around Piazza Grande get crowded. Book ahead or eat slightly earlier (12:30 rather than 13:00) to secure a table.
The daily Mercato Coperto (covered market) on Piazza Sant'Agostino sells fresh produce, cheese, salumi, and bread. It is the best place to assemble a picnic before heading to the Fortezza Medicea park.
On Saturday mornings, the weekly street market stretches along the streets near the stadium, selling everything from vegetables to clothing. The food stalls — particularly those selling fresh pecorino, porchetta sandwiches, and seasonal fruit — are excellent.
For olive oil, look for labels marked "Olio extravergine di oliva Toscano IGP" — this guarantees Tuscan origin and quality. Several shops on Corso Italia sell oils from farms in the surrounding hills, often with tasting available.
Arezzo's cuisine centres on hearty Tuscan staples: ribollita (bread and vegetable soup), pici (hand-rolled thick spaghetti), bistecca chianina (grilled steak from the local Chianina cattle breed), acquacotta (peasant bread soup with egg), and scottiglia (mixed meat stew). Meals are finished with cantucci biscuits dipped in Vin Santo dessert wine.
Chianina is one of the oldest cattle breeds in the world, native to the Val di Chiana valley south of Arezzo. These large, white-coated animals produce the prized bistecca alla fiorentina — a thick T-bone steak grilled over oak charcoal, seasoned only with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Arezzo is the heartland of genuine Chianina beef.
Arezzo sits near the eastern edge of the Chianti wine region (Chianti Colli Aretini DOCG) and produces excellent Sangiovese-based reds. The area is also known for Vin Santo, a sweet dessert wine made from dried Trebbiano and Malvasia grapes, and increasingly for quality wines from the Cortona DOC zone to the south.