Gluten-Free Websites and Apps for Travelers
Schar’s Gluten Free Roads This website and app, by Schar (Europe’s biggest producer of gluten free products) allows you to enter your location and find a list of pizza spots and restaurants nearby where they serve gluten free dishes. You can also look up stores or supermarkets where they sell gluten-free products. It is not as helpful in less touristy regions, but in areas like Tuscany or Rome you’ll find a ton of spots on their gluten free roads maps. It’ll change your travel life completely. Impromptu pizza stops are in your future.
Printable Italian Celiac Restaurant Card Print this card, laminate it and bring it with you to restaurants in Italy. Though the population is much more well versed in food allergies now (oy vay if you are traveling now it is SO much better than 10 years ago it’s amazing!), there are still many who don’t understand the full scope of foods that contain gluten (of course this is true anywhere).
Find gluten-free restaurants anywhere you go with Find Me Gluten Free’s App. While this app is better in the U.S. it can still be helpful when traveling in popular international regions (where travelers are more likely to submit reviews of locations) such as Rome and Tuscany.
Created by the Associazione Italiana Celiachia or the Italian Celiac Society, the AIC app can be a great resource for celiacs seeking a list of establishments who have been certified by the AIC (everything from restaurants and pizzerias to gelaterias and autostradas). Like most websites and apps when it comes to keeping updated business information in the gluten-free world, things can change fast. So, it is always prudent to call a business and confirm they are still certified before you visit.
Note: While the AIC mobile app used to be free there is now a small charge for non-AIC members to use the app (about $3)
Download the Find Me Gluten Free app and the AIC app while in Italy to help you find gluten free food, safe restaurant lists and more!
Gluten-Free Bakeries in Italy
Starbene Senza Glutine -this bakery has locations now all over Italy: Siena, Florence, Rome, Lucca, Modena and more. It’s a bit complicated to contact them as all the stores are run separately (like a franchise) so no store has information on any other store and if you just google Starbene you might get any one of the stores. So, best option is to type in Starbene senza glutine in Facebook plus the city where you’ll be and find the exact shop you’re looking for.
There you’ll find hours, days open and phone number/address, etc. They have some of the best fresh baked gluten free breads that I’ve had in Italy (except for the tiny bio shops that have weekly deliveries of the really good whole grain stuff)
For a more extensive list of gluten-free bakeries, gluten-free pizzerias, and gluten-free restaurants in Italy, by city, see this post.
Shopping for Gluten-Free products at Italian supermarkets
Gone are the days when you had to go to a pharmacy (or farmacia) in Italy to get some gluten-free crackers or pasta (that turned into mush immediately or tasted like cardboard). You’ll find a huge gluten free aisle in the big supermarkets like Coop, Conad and Esselunga in big cities (as long as you’re not shopping in the super small/convenience store version of these stores).
These supermarkets should have everything from gluten free pasta and cereal to packaged gluten-free breads, crackers and cookies. If you go to one of the huge super-center versions of a supermarket like Esselunga or Coop you’ll find an even larger variety.
Of course, the quality varies and in Italy, like Spain and France almost all gluten-free products are really white flour based. Finding a whole grain gluten-free pasta is like stumbling on the holy grail. It can be done though, if you find the small bio shops that are usually hiding somewhere in any city or town. I find that Schar has the best consistency and taste when it comes to bread/pizza crusts/crackers that can be bought at most supermarkets in Italy. For gluten-free pasta though, there are many better options on Italian supermarket aisles.
In small villages and towns and outside of touristy regions
Finding gluten-free products in places like Rome or Tuscany (the most visited region by international tourists and in general) and finding gluten free products in small towns and villages are very different things. In many towns you will be lucky to find a package of gluten free crackers at the supermarket (and in these towns you still may need to go to the farmacia to find a package of gluten-free bread).
If traveling to very small towns, do some research first, and always bring some extra gluten-free crackers and sandwich rolls with you if you can’t live without them.
For research, I always try a google search: senza glutine+name of town and then see if I find any restaurants/bakeries/shops listed. I also go to a site like TripAdvisor and look for reviews that include the words ‘senza glutine’ or ‘gluten-free’ and see what comes up. When it’s a very small town though, you still might not find anything. So I try to look up larger cities along my route, and stop in the nearest good-sized city to stock-up before arriving to a small village.
If the town is small but posh or populated enough, you can sometimes have luck finding a bio-shop (ask the locals or at the desk at your hotel) or pharmacy who has a gluten-free section.
Restaurant/Where to Eat Lists (though I try to keep these up to date-things change quickly in the gluten free world so please double check information):
Gluten-Free Bakeries, Pizzerias, and Restaurants by City
Guide to Eating Gluten-Free Lucca
Trip Advisor’s Top Rated Gluten-Free Restaurants in Florence
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