There are two cardinal rules of Italian cuisine – eat locally and eat seasonally. Imported foods are changing this picture, but faithful Italian cooks would never eat asparagus, tomatoes or artichokes out of season. Food is part of the rhythm of life, and so Italians eagerly await the arrival of seasonal ingredients from mushrooms in the fall to wild strawberries in the spring.

The climate varies considerably from the north to the south of Italy. In the north of the country – the area between the Alps and the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines – the climate is harsh, with very cold winters and very hot, particularly humid summers. In central Italy the climate is milder, with a smaller difference in temperature between summer and winter and a shorter and less intense cold season than in the north; summers are longer, but the sultriness of the northern cities is mitigated by the sea. In southern Italy and the islands winters are never particularly harsh, and spring and autumn temperatures are similar to those reached in the summer in other areas of Italy.