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The Gluten-Free Guide to Italy
(Sleepy Hollow, NY) April 10, 2008
Maria Ann Roglieri, Ph.D., author of The Gluten-Free Guide to New York, has published The Gluten-Free Guide to Italy, a new way to look at Italy's culinary treasures. An Italian-American Professor of Italian who is gluten-free herself and has a celiac daughter, she wrote the book, the second in a series of gluten-free guides, as a service to the already large and growing gluten-intolerant community.
Millions of people all over the world cannot tolerate gluten (due to celiac disease, and wheat allergy) while millions more people suffering from autism, neuropathy, chronic pain and fatigue syndromes (such as fibromyalgia, MS, rheumatoid arthritis, and migraines) turn to a gluten-free diet for relief. Being on a gluten-free diet, however, is quite challenging because gluten is found in just about everything -- pastas, breads, sauces, cereals, etc. It is especially difficult to eat out because it is necessary to check with the chef about all of the ingredients in any given dish. Traveling can be very stressful when it comes to ordering food in a foreign language.
The Gluten-Free Guide to Italy offers detailed information about where to find gluten-free food and how to ask for it. With this specially-designed book, travelers can find gluten-free food all over Italy in:
• hotels, resorts and B&B’s
• restaurants
• pizzerias
• bakeries
• ice cream stores
• food markets and pharmacies
• service areas for GF food on the go
The book also features multi-lingual vocabulary sections to facilitate clear communication of dietary needs. These sections include a celiac self-identification statement, questions for the chef, a list of safe and unsafe ingredients, and an extensive dictionary of key food words and phrases, all translated into Italian from English, German, Spanish, and French.
You wouldn’t think for a minute that Italy is a gluten-free paradise, would you? But it is . . .
Everyone in Italy knows about celiac disease. When you ask restaurant staff about gluten-free food, they automatically respond with the question "Do you have celiac disease?". This is because all Italians are tested for celiac disease at an early age. The many who test positive receive great services: a monthly stipend from the government for gluten-free food as well as extra vacation time to shop for and prepare gluten-free food. In addition, the Associazione Italiana Celiachia (AIC), the Italian government and a few major Italian companies that sell gluten-free products have all worked to promote awareness and understanding of celiac disease. As a result, restaurant owners, managers, chefs, and waiters are well-informed.
While everyone in Italy knows about celiac disease, not many gluten-free travelers to Italy realize that! Italy, the land of pasta, seems like the last place where one could enjoy a gluten-free meal. Most travelers are completely unaware that they can enjoy gluten-free croissant (known as cornetti), gluten-free sandwiches, gluten-free pasta, gluten-free beer and gluten-free pizza, and gluten-free ice cream in a cone. They travel through Italy “surviving”
While she was writing The Gluten-Free Guide to Italy, she enlisted the help of native speakers of Italian, French, Spanish, and German for the extensive vocabulary sections. For the dining sections, she contacted the AIC, and personally spoke to hundreds of restaurant owners, managers, and customers in Italy. Sometimes, the restaurant owners said "no"-- they could not provide customers with a gluten-free meal. But much more often they said things like, "Why not? Why do you even ask?", "Would you like gnocchi or tagliatelle?
The Gluten-Free Guide to Italy is an invaluable resource offered in a single, carry-along volume to travelers to Italy who are gluten-free. For more information about the book or to purchase a copy, visit www.gfguideitaly.com. Buon viaggio e buon appetito!
Also available through Mari Productions is the new edition of The Gluten-Free Guide to New York, a book that offers detailed information about restaurants, hotels, and health food stores in the New York tri-state area that provide gluten-free food. Gluten-
About the author: Maria Ann Roglieri, Ph.D. is Professor of Italian at St. Thomas Aquinas College. She holds a B.A. in Italian literature from Columbia University, and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Italian literature from Harvard University. She has authored numerous articles and a book on Dante and music, and The Gluten-Free Guide to New York. She is very active in the American celiac community and is a member of the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America, The Celiac Spruce Association USA, and the Westchester Celiac Spruce Support Group.
