It took 36 years for Hollywood to realize that all we really wanted was to watch Stanley Tucci eat his way around Italy.
Don’t get us wrong: Tucci’s acting range is worship-worthy. Watch The Devil Wears Prada and The Lovely Bones back-to-back and try to tell us that he doesn’t deserve all the acting awards he’s earned over his illustrious career.
But Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy is the televised manifestation of *chef’s kiss*.
It’s impossible to watch the CNN series without dreaming of your own Italian getaway, so we’ve put together a menu of the best places to visit from Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy and how to get around each site by train.
Image Credit: Getty Images, Gary Yeowell. Image Location: Catania, Italy
Found: Stanley Tucci’s fave spots in Italy
Who — besides someone with impeccable taste — has the time to plan an entire vacation around the Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy filming locations? Time is short and Italy is long, but you can easily integrate some of Tucci’s favorite spots no matter your Italian itinerary.
Where does Stanley Tucci eat in Rome?
In Rome, Stanley Tucci visits "the pantheon of pasta," Armando al Pantheon, for a classic Roman lunch - rigatoni all'amatriciana. At Pommidoro, Daniele di Michele, nicknamed "Don Pasta", teaches Tucci how to make authentic Roman pasta carbonara. Tucci celebrates artichoke season by visiting the Jewish Ghetto and Italia Tagliacozzo’s restaurant La Reginella, where he tries carciofi alla giudia, Rome’s famous fried artichokes.
Cacio e pepe is a must in Rome and few do it as good as Bistrot64. Tucci also visits Bar San Calisto, an old haunt in Trastevere, for espresso and maritozzi—brioche-like buns filled with cream. Get a train to Roma Termini station to start your food journey (or just get off the train and marvel at the ruins, because, when in Rome, right?)
Where does Stanley Tucci eat pizza in Naples?
In the Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy "Naples and the Amalfi Coast" episode, Tucci visits Pizzeria La Notizia to make a pie with owner Enzo Coccia, one of the best pizza chefs on the planet. Napoli Mergellina in Naples is the closest train station.
What restaurant does Stanley Tucci go to in Amalfi?
In the "Naples and the Amalfi Coast" episode of Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy, Tucci visits Pasticceria Sal De Riso in the Amalfi Coast town of Minori. The closest train station is Vietri sul Mare-Amalfi and the only way to access Amalfi Coast towns from here is by car, bus, or boat.
What is Stanley Tucci’s favorite restaurant in Positano?
To order Spaghetti alla Nerano at Lo Scoglio, one of Tucci’s favorite restaurants near Positano, you’ll need to take a boat to Torca. Like Stanley, you can eat like a local at the best restaurants in Positano and Amalfi coast.
Where does Stanley Tucci eat in Florence?
In the "Tuscany" episode of Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy, Tucci has a homecoming of sorts in his former home and eats at Osteria Cinghiale Bianco. You can reserve your own plate of panzanella and walk to your table under 15 minutes from the Firenze Santa Maria Novella train station.
Image Credit: Getty Images, elvirkin. Image Location: Naples, Italy
Where else does Stanley Tucci visit?
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy ran for 14 episodes and visited dozens of towns and cities. Should you want to eat your way around the country like he did, here’s where you can find a restaurant from each episode not mentioned above.
Sicily
Get at least one Michelin experience under your belt with a visit to I Pupi, outside of Palermo. Closest train station: Bagheria (might as well stay at the villa from HBO’s The White Lotus while you’re near Palermo).
Puglia
A cheese bar Stanley Tucci has visited? Say no more. Caseificio Dicecca is close to the Altamura train station and serves up Apulia blue cheese (and 60+ others that’ll send you to your luxury Puglia hotel in a cheese coma).
Image Credit: Getty Images, fabiano caddeo. Image Location: Sardinia, Italy
Sardinia
Sail and rail to Cagliari train station then find a seat at Luigi Pomata, just 10 minutes away on foot. Tuna is on the menu and if it’s worth it for Tucci’s taste buds, it’s worth it for yours, too.
Liguria
Use the cheap Cinque Terre Express train to visit Corniglia and sample cheese-stuffed fried anchovies at the cliffside restaurant Ittiturismo.
Bologna
One of the few places in Bologna proper that Stanley Tucci visits is Salumeria Simoni, a family–run grocery one-mile south of Bologna Centrale train station.
Calabria
Scilla train station is where you’ll get off for Il Principe Di Scilla, a lovely seaside restaurant where Tucci ate local swordfish.
Milan
Milan is a fantastic foodie city and Ratanà is a must for any Tucci fan who can stomach a half-mile walk from the Milano Centrale train station.
Image Credit: Getty Images, Gary Yeowell. Image Location: Umbria, Italy
Umbria
Make your way up to the small city of Orvieto via the train station of the same name and taste a pigeon dish at Ristorante Caffè Capitano del Popolo that wowed Stanley Tucci.
Piedmont
After spending the afternoon truffle hunting like Tucci did, stop by either Del Cambio or Piola da Celso for bagna càuda and finanziera before hopping on the train at Torino Porta Susa.
Venice
Cicchetti is a must in Venice, which Tucci amply enjoyed at Osteria Ai 4 Feri Storti, not far from Venezia Santa Lucia train station.
London
A bit far from Italy but who are we to tell Mr. Tucci where to search for Italy? One of his favorite Italian restaurants in the English capital is Sartoria, just around the corner from Oxford Circus and Piccadilly Circus tube stations.
Searching for more of Italy?
Think you can visit all of these cities and consider yourself Tuccied? Think again!
CNN was grating Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy on our television screens like parmesan on pasta and canceled it before we said “when”. So, National Geographic did what heroes do and enlisted the actor for a new 10-part docuseries called Tucci — The Heart of Italy.
Download the Trainline app so you’ll be ready to buy those train tickets on a whim to wherever his edible adventures in Italy go next.
Header Image Credit: Getty Images, Johner Images. Image Location: Italy
