The Rome IndexAmatriciana — the guide
Rome's most politically charged pasta — and how to eat it correctly.
What it is
Rigatoni or bucatini with guanciale, San Marzano tomatoes, Pecorino Romano and black pepper. The origins are in Amatrice, a town in Lazio devastated by earthquake in 2016 — ordering it in Rome now carries a small weight of solidarity alongside the culinary pleasure.
The gricia connection
Gricia is amatriciana without the tomato — predating it by centuries, from the period before New World tomatoes reached Italy. The two dishes share every other ingredient and the same technique, making gricia the clearest window into what Roman pasta looked like before 1800.
How to order it correctly
Bucatini all'amatriciana in most traditional places. If a restaurant offers it with spaghetti or penne instead, it's not necessarily wrong — but bucatini is the classic. No onion, no wine, no chilli flakes, despite what some menus add.