The Hungry Archaeologist – Anagni

Anagni’s food traditions are those of the Ciociaria region, the market gardens for Rome. The most famous local dish is the timballo of Boniface VIII, the pope famously slapped in 1303 by Sciarra Colonna at the orders of the French king. The timballo consists of fettuccine with meat sauce and meatballs, baked in a pie with an outer layer of prosciutto; this is delicious, but not a dish for the faint-hearted. Fettuccine and gnocchitti feature large among the first courses, accompanied by the dense and tasty ragù ciociaro. Seconds are more traditional: local meat cooked on the grill, particularly abbacchio alla scottadito. All of this is washed down by the local wine, Cesanese del Piglio, and finished off with small cookies, or ciambelline al vino rosso, made even better by dunking them in a glass of Cesanese! In Anagni, eat at ‘Lo Schiaffo’ on via Vittorio Emanuele 270, ‘Osteria della Fontana’ on the Via Casilina, or ‘Antica Osteria della Noce.’