Italy

Italian food is famous for three things:

• Pizza. Every region seems to have their own characteristic pizza dish, withsome "unique" combination of cheese, tomato, salami and mushrooms. Sometimes to be really whacky they miss off the cheese or the tomato. Hilarious. If you're a fan of a good deep pan pizza covered with interesting toppings you will quickly learn to hate Italian pizzerias, but if not feel free to try all the different variations.
• Pasta. The fresh pasta, served up with delicious sauces and cheeses would be enough to make anybody fall in love with a country. A bargain eat in most restaurants.
• Gelato. A thousand different types of ice-cream, all of which taste great. You may be able to get perfectly serviceable gelato on every street corner throughout the Balkans, but there's nothing like getting it in Italy. Eat a different combination every day. Even if it's pouring with rain and freezing cold. In fact especially if it's pouring with rain and freezing cold - it's bound to cheer you up.

Unfortunately, and particularly since the introduction of the euro, Italy is not world-reknowned for its bargain-priced restaurants. Be aware of outrageous seating charges, bread and service charges doubling what you expect to pay. Don't be afraid not to tip if you feel the service charge covered the service you received, and if you are on a tight budget look at the tips in the cheap eats section.

Self-catering

Italy is rightly famous for having a good selection of fresh produce available for cooking, which is great if you're feeling ambitious, and have the cooking facilities available. Food isn't necessarily quite as easily available as in Northern Europe, since it is mostly sold from small specialist grocery stores and delicatessens. The prices at these stores are also not quite as cheap as in other countries, although ultimately a good pasta meal can be created for pennies. In contrast to the good availability of fresh produce, ready meals and simple-to-cook food is far harder and more expensive to buy.

Hostel kitchens can be fairly patchy - the best are more than adequate, and the worst are non-existent. The best plan is probably to use kitchens to fill up on pasta meals whenever they are available, and eke out the rest of your time on bread and cheese, with as many cheap-eating options as you can afford.

Cheap eats

Station canteens can be a suprisingly good place to eat for cheap in Italy. These are large self-service affairs with canteens serving pasta, pizza, salad and main courses for quite reasonable prices. One of the main advantages of these places is that prices are clearly marked, and what you see is what you will pay at the till. In a country famous for padding restaurant bills with "seating" charges, separately-charged vegetables and expensive unwanted bread this can be a positive boon.

In general, pasta and pizza dishes are likely to prove a great deal cheaper than meat-based dishes, lunch is cheaper than evening meals, and be very wary of extra charges.

Drinks

Beer.

in Italy, beer tends to be served in measures of 0.2 and 0.4l on draft, and in bottles of around 330ml. The strength is typical for Western Europe, typically around 4-4.5% alcohol by volume. The characteristic beer throughout most of Italy is peroni, which is fairly sweet, and goes better with food than as a drink on its own. Prices again are fairly typical for Western Europe, at around 2-3 euros for a beer in a bar.

Wine.

Italy may not be as quite as famous as France for its wines, but the quality of both domestic reds and whites is pretty good. You'd better get used to it anyway, since domestic wine dominates lists in most bars and restaurants.

Coffee.

Coffee is one of the many delicacies that Italy is famous for. It is the home of the cappuccino after all. And maybe that's why Italians feel so little need to make it well. You are more likely to get a tasty coffee actually made as you like it in Spain, or for that matter in a Starbucks anywhere in the world, than in most cafes in Italy. There is a definite trend towards having the house blend or nothing, and different styles appear to be restricted to cappuccino or espresso. For this you will pay pretty much what you would expect to pay in the UK or Germany, and may well have to stand to drink it (seating being only for people taking waitress service at, suprise suprise, an extra charge). Be aware also that many cafes operate a pay-in-advance system, where you get a token from the cashier for what you want to take over to the barrista to be made.