Italian cuisine is defined by simplicity, by the use of top quality ingredients and by its regional diversity; with each of its regions offering a wealth of specialities particular to that place.
We are incredibly lucky in Manchester to have a large Italian community and an array of restaurants serving traditional dishes from across the Italian peninsula and its islands.
So, while most of us won't be able to jet off to sunny Mediterranean shores to enjoy a glass of Aperol and a plate of fresh pasta, you can still enjoy the culinary delights of Italy, without stepping on a plane.
For those of us who dream of a tour around Italy's gastronomic hot spots, these Manchester restaurants can offer you the next best thing with a chance to enjoy many of the country's regional specialities right here in the city - we can't make any promises for the weather though.
Sicily
Let's begin with the most southerly of Italian isles. Home to active volcano, Mount Etna and the cities of Palermo and Catania, Sicily has a population of over five million people.
Although Sicilian cuisine has a lot in common with mainland Italian cuisine, the food also shows influences from Greek, Spanish, French and Arabic flavours.
Transport back to Manchester's Northern Quarter and you'll find a slice of Sicilian life.
Occupying a grade II listed building on Hilton Street, William Sicilian was opened in 2018 by Sicilian pair, Carmen Andre and Claudio Morales.
Taking over the William's Sandwich Bar site, the menu has retained some of the traditional British dishes, such as full English breakfasts, butties and jacket potatoes, alongside a range of traditional Italian and Sicilian dishes.
The menu features a range of Sicilian street food, from the hugely popular arancini with various meat and veggie ingredients, to lesser-known dishes like cipollina catanese – a puff pastry with tomato, onions, ham and cheese.
There's also freshly made cannoli - tube-shaped shells of fried pastry dough filled with ricotta, pistachio, chocolate or Chantilly cream.
Puglia
Moving northwards and onto the Italian peninsula, we find Puglia.
Forming the heel of Italy's boot, the region is known for superb traditional cuisine, especially its unique pasta shapes - the most famous being orechiette, which literally translates as 'little ears'.
There's also cavatelli, meaning 'little hollows', strascinate (like orecchietti but larger) and strozzapreti, meaning 'priest-strangler'.
Manchester's Pugliese contingent comes in the form of Sugo Pasta Kitchen, with its two restaurants in Altrincham and Ancoats.
Sugo's menu changes seasonally but one dish that you can always rely on being on the menu is the House Sugo - orecchiette with a slow cooked beef shin, pork shoulder and 'nduja ragu.
A seemingly simple yet utterly decadent dish, the delightfully thick ears of fresh pasta hold on the rich, fiery ragu.
It's easy to see why this dish never leaves the menu, and diners might struggle to choose a different dish each time they visit.
Naples
Naples is the regional capital of the Campania region. Set in the Gulf of Naples alongside Pompeii and Sorrento in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, the area is well known for its excellent produce thanks to its fertile volcanic soil.
In gastronomic terms, Naples is known for one thing above all else - it's doughy, it's cheesy, it's the one and only pizza.
From Rudy's Pizza in Ancoats to Proove in West Didsbury, Honest Crust in Altrincham and the Chorlton's Double Zero, we are not short of restaurants serving top quality pizza in Manchester .
Naples is also well known for its street food dishes, and another regional classic is now being served up at one Manchester restaurant.
A family run business set up by Neapolitan owner Maurizio Cecco, Salvi's imports most of its ingredients direct from producers in Italy.
Having recently rebranded their Rosticceria restaurant on John Dalton Street as Salvi's Pizzeria Napoletana, they are now serving calzone fritto (also known as pizza fritta) alongside classic pizza, pasta and street food.
For the calzone fritto, homemade dough is filled with various ingredients and then deep fried in hot oil, until the dough is light and cripsy.
The classico is filled with mozzarella, ricotta, tomato and parmesan, but diners can also choose from; salami; friarielli (wild broccoli) and black olives; or ciccioli (pressed pork).
Venice
Moving northwards, we'll make a stop at the capital of Italy's Veneto region.
One of the most popular tourist hot spots in the world, Venice is built on more than 100 small islands in a lagoon in the Adriatic Sea.
Wander around the streets of Venice and you will come upon small bars called bacari, serving a range of small dishes known as cicchetti (pronounced chi - ket - tee). Like tapas, diners can order several plates to share.
Back in England's capital of the north, Mancunians can enjoy the Venetian experience at San Carlo Cicchetti on the ground floor of House of Fraser on Deansgate.
The menu suggests five or six dishes to share between two. Diners can choose from a large selection of dishes from across Italy, including pasta, fritti (Italian fried street food), antipasti, salads, meat and fish dishes.
Some of the regional classics include Venetian salt cod croquettes, baked smoked cod with potato and cream, and a bellini Veneziana - a classic bellini made with white peach juice and prosecco.
Sardinia
The second largest island in the Mediterranean sea after Sicily, Sardinia is located directly west of the Italian peninsula.
Sardinia's food is divided into food from the land and food from the sea, reflecting its geographic landscape - both miles of coastline and inland mountains.
Sardus is a dedicated Sardinian restaurant, with its original restaurant Altrincham and now with a new site on Deansgate.
The restaurant is named after Sardus, an ancient mythological hero who supposedly led colony of Libyans and occupied the island of Ichnusa which was then later renamed after him as Sardinia.
Traditional dishes from the island include fregola - a type of pasta made from semolina dough rolled into small balls and toasted in the oven.
At Sardus, there is fregola ai frutti di mare (with seafood) and fregola antunaa i purpedda (with oyster mushrooms and Sardinian sausages)
There's also cassola - a decadent Sardinian fish stew with tomatoes, chilli and garlic. It is filled with large prawns, mussels, squid and white fish and served with bread to mop up the rich sauce.
