Many Italian foods are so familiar they almost seem like American foods. If you ask a child where pizza is from, he is likely to say the United States. And the same goes for spaghetti and lasagna. Gelato, too. No wonder Italian food is still the most popular ethnic food in America. So it was natural — inevitable, really — that I would wrap up my yearlong culinary tour of other countries with a visit to Italy, the best-tasting boot in the world.

The country is marvelously varied in the cuisine of its different regions. Southern Italy provides the food that is perhaps most familiar to Americans. It is where you will find the tomatoes, the eggplants, the marinara sauce — and the pizza. Northern Italy is more about beef and dairy; it is home to the butter-based sauces and the cream. It is also the birthplace of salted meats, such as prosciutto and salami.