What to eat in Assisi

The fastest meal in Assisi is torta al testo, a flatbread baked on a testo, and the best proof of Umbrian cooking is strangozzi and game. A street lunch starts at from €5 (torta al testo), while a sit-down meal in a trattoria costs noticeably more.

Torta al testo, to begin with

Torta al testo is a savoury flatbread of flour, water, baking soda and salt, baked on a testo, a round stone or terracotta plate, sometimes under hot ashes. It is eaten plain like bread or filled with vegetables, cheese or cured meat. At Trattoria Pallotta it is filled with vegetables or Norcia ham, €8 (filled, Trattoria Pallotta). A cheap meal is also in Santa Maria degli Angeli, at Testone (Via Sandro Pertini 3), where everything is cooked on wood: from €5 (torta al testo).

2 daysA lunch that fits between the Roman Forum and Santa Chiara:Assisi in 2 days →

Strangozzi, and why they are not spaghetti

Strangozzi are long noodles of square section, made of water and flour, without egg. The name translates as "priest strangler", and the story behind it is an anticlerical joke about priests choking from greed. At Trattoria Pallotta they come with mushrooms and black olives, €12 ("alla Pallotta"); €24 with truffle.

Pigeon and wild boar

• Piccione alla ghiotta — pigeon with a crostone and caramelised red onions from Cannara, €24 (alla ghiotta, Trattoria Pallotta).
• Braised wild boar — boar with an apple cake, €22 (Trattoria Pallotta).

What a sit-down meal costs

A main course at Trattoria Pallotta is €18–25 (main course, Trattoria Pallotta). For a quick meal from the menu there is the Pranzo Veloce: €25 (Pranzo Veloce, Trattoria Pallotta).

Day tripsYou can test Umbrian cooking in Perugia too, 18 min by train:Day trips from Assisi →

When to goWhich month the town is emptier, and which is full of pilgrims:The best time to visit Assisi →