Tucci is full of made-for-TV quips—negronis are like “summer in your stomach,” he likes to say—but when it comes to why he’s making this show, he’s serious about his choice to highlight chefs like Pettini: “It’s only those who truly value intention and authenticity that craft the dishes worth trying around the world.” He also never hesitates to offer advice for how to live like an Italian: Biscotti is the Florentine way to end every meal; the local food market is the window to a city’s heart; never skip the art of “fare la scapetta,” the Italian phrase for mopping off leftover sauce with bread.
I run into Tucci one last time as I finish lunch outside Café Cibrèo—a meal of seared veal tongue and anchovies with a fresh parsley sauce that is surprisingly light. Above us, small balconies painted forest green are draped with drying laundry and geraniums. True to form, he urges me to indulge in an afternoon espresso. A low, steady beat of music drifting from an apartment mingles with the murmur of diners and the clink of glasses—the rhythm of local life pulses quietly. Tucci grins and nods: “This place has heart, huh?”
Visit the Tucci in Italy locations
Trentino Alto Adige
Tucci says he didn’t want to leave the northeastern region of Trentino Alto Adige in the Dolomites, to which he dedicated an entire episode. Do as Tucci did and ski down to one of the Dolomites’ beloved and humble-looking slopeside huts, Baita Sanon, home to hearty dishes like beef goulash, sauerkraut, and polenta—influenced by the Dolomites complex history as a part of the Austro-Hungarian empire.
Abruzzo
For the new show Tucci finally got to visit Abruzzo for the first time. “There aren’t that many people there, but it’s absolutely beautiful, and the food is great,” he says. While exploring, he visited Ristoro Mucciante, which he describes as “the place to experience Abruzzo’s culinary rite of passage.” One example of that legacy is arrosticini, or grilled meat skewers, typically made with mutton or lamb—a popular street food cooked over charcoal, often on a special grill called a fornacella.
Maremma
A different kind of artistry in the southernmost corner of Tuscany can be found in the Maremma region, which spills into northern Lazio. Here, what Tucci calls “Italy’s Wild West,” he met the cowboys behind Tenuta di Alberese, a 900-year-old ranch known for its traditional Maremma cattle herding. Visitors can accompany the butteri—the ranches unconventional cattle herders. Per Tucci, don’t leave without sampling the steak, which is dry-aged to make it as tender as possible.
National Geographic’s Tucci in Italy premieres on May 18, 2025, and streams the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.
