Italy invented fast food 2,000 years before McDonald's. The Roman thermopolium — a counter with built-in terracotta pots serving hot food to passersby — is the ancestor of every street food stall on Earth. Pompeii had 80 of them for a population of 11,000. Today, every Italian city has its own street food tradition, each one a complete lunch for €2-5 that tastes better than most sit-down restaurants because street food vendors do ONE thing, all day, every day, and they've perfected it over generations.
Plan my food crawl →Rome: Supplì (fried rice ball with mozzarella heart, €1.50) — the Roman arancino, but smaller and with a cheese string when you break it open. Pizza al taglio (pizza by weight, €2-4/piece) — Pizzarium Bonci is the world champion. Trapizzino (pizza pocket filled with Roman stews — coda alla vaccinara, pollo alla cacciatora, €3.50) — invented in 2008 by Stefano Callegari, now a Roman institution.
Naples: Pizza a portafoglio (full margherita folded in quarters, eaten walking, €1.50-2) — the cheapest complete meal in Italy. Frittatina di pasta (fried ball of leftover pasta with béchamel, €2). Cuoppo (paper cone of mixed fried seafood, €5). All available at every friggitoria in Spaccanapoli.
Palermo: Arancine (fried rice balls, €1.50-2 — Palermitani say "arancina" feminine, Catanesi say "arancino" masculine. The debate is violent). Panelle (chickpea fritter in bread, €2). Sfincione (thick pizza with onion, anchovy, breadcrumbs, €2/slice). Stigghiola (grilled lamb intestines — street BBQ, €3, not for everyone, unforgettable for those it's for).
Florence: Lampredotto (tripe sandwich from a cart, €4-5) — the most Florentine thing you can eat. Fourth stomach of the cow, slow-simmered, in a roll dipped in the cooking broth, topped with salsa verde. Schiacciata (flat focaccia with olive oil, €2) or filled with prosciutto (€4).
Bari: Focaccia barese (thick, oily, with cherry tomatoes and olives, €2/piece) — the best focaccia in Italy, eaten at any hour. Sgagliozze (fried polenta triangles, €1 for a bag, sold from street carts in Bari Vecchia).
Catania: Arancini (bigger than Palermo's, cone-shaped, filled with ragù or butter+ham, €2). Cartocciate (fried dough filled with ham and mozzarella, €2). Granita + brioche (not street food technically — it's a sit-down breakfast, but eaten standing = €3 for the most refreshing meal in summer).