Ingredient: Tomato: From the New World to the Heart of Italy

When we think of Italian food, the tomato comes to mind almost instantly. Red sauces clinging to strands of spaghetti, bright salads of mozzarella and tomato, pizza with its glowing red base — these are some of the most iconic images of Italy’s culinary identity. And yet, for most of Italian history, the tomato was nowhere to be found.

The journey of the tomato from its native lands in the Americas to its central role in Italian cuisine is a tale of discovery, suspicion, adaptation, and finally, love. Today, tomatoes are so deeply woven into Italian food culture that it’s almost impossible to imagine the cuisine without them. But the story of how they arrived, how they were accepted, and how they transformed Italy is one of the most fascinating culinary journeys in the world.

Origins: A Fruit of the New World

The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is native to the Andean region of South America, with wild varieties still growing in modern-day Peru and Ecuador. Indigenous peoples of Central and South America had been cultivating and eating tomatoes for centuries before European contact. The Aztecs in Mexico called it tomatl, a word that gave us “tomato.”

The Spanish encountered tomatoes in the early 16th century during their conquest of the Americas. Seeds and plants were brought back to Europe along with other “New World” crops like maize, potatoes, and chilli peppers. At first, Europeans didn’t quite know what to make of the tomato.

The Tomato Arrives in Europe

The earliest recorded mention of tomatoes in Europe dates to around 1544, when Italian physician and botanist Pietro Andrea Mattioli described a new plant called pomo d’oro (“golden apple”). The name suggests that the earliest tomatoes cultivated in Europe may have been yellow rather than red.

By the mid-16th century, tomatoes were being grown in Spain and southern Italy, but primarily as ornamental plants in gardens. They belonged to the nightshade family (Solanaceae), which includes several poisonous species, and many Europeans were suspicious of eating them. In fact, for over two centuries, tomatoes were considered more dangerous curiosity than food.

One popular myth even claimed that aristocrats who ate tomatoes would die from poisoning — when in fact the acidic tomato was reacting with the pewter plates they ate from, leaching out toxic lead. For this reason, tomatoes developed a reputation as deadly, and they remained on the fringes of European diets.

From Suspicion to Acceptance

It wasn’t until the 17th and 18th centuries that tomatoes began to shift from ornamental to edible in European minds. The poorer classes, less concerned with aristocratic superstitions, began experimenting with tomatoes as food.

In Spain and southern Italy — regions where the climate resembled that of Mexico — tomatoes thrived. Slowly, they found their way into local peasant cooking. In Naples, Sicily, and other parts of southern Italy, tomatoes began appearing in stews, soups, and sauces.

By the late 18th century, recipes for tomato sauces were appearing in cookbooks. One of the earliest references is from Lo scalco alla moderna (The Modern Steward) by Antonio Latini (1692), which describes a Spanish-style tomato sauce served with meat. This is considered one of the first recorded recipes for a tomato sauce in European cuisine.

Tomatoes Take Root in Italian Cuisine

The turning point came in the 18th and early 19th centuries, when tomatoes were fully embraced in southern Italy, particularly Naples. The fertile volcanic soil of Campania and Sicily was ideal for tomato cultivation, and the climate ensured sweetness and flavour.

Naples, in particular, became a cradle of tomato-based cuisine. By the early 19th century, pasta al pomodoro had become a staple, and the combination of pasta and tomato sauce spread rapidly across the region. Pizza, too, began evolving into its modern form in Naples — flatbreads topped with tomato, garlic, and later, mozzarella.

By the 19th century, the tomato was no longer an exotic curiosity; it had become the heart of southern Italian cooking. From there, its influence spread northward. Today, while northern Italy retains many tomato-free traditions (butter and cream sauces, pesto, ragùs without tomato), tomatoes are still an essential part of the national identity.

Regional Varieties of Tomatoes in Italy

One of the most remarkable aspects of the tomato’s integration into Italian cuisine is how deeply it has become regionalised. Different parts of Italy specialise in distinct tomato varieties, each prized for its own qualities.

• San Marzano (Campania): Long, meaty, and low in seeds, San Marzano tomatoes are the classic sauce tomato. With their natural sweetness and balanced acidity, they are the gold standard for pasta sauces and Neapolitan pizza. So revered are they that they enjoy PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) status.

• Pomodoro di Pachino (Sicily): Grown in the sun-drenched southeast of Sicily, Pachino tomatoes (IGP-protected) are small, cherry- or plum-shaped, and incredibly sweet. They’re perfect for raw pasta sauces like pasta alla checca, or quickly cooked into fresh sughi.

• Piennolo del Vesuvio (Campania): These small, oval tomatoes are harvested in bunches and hung to dry, lasting through the winter. Their flavour is sharp and concentrated, perfect for seafood pastas like spaghetti alle vongole.

• Costoluto Fiorentino (Tuscany): Ribbed, meaty tomatoes with a rich flavour, excellent for rustic sauces like pappa al pomodoro.

• Datterino (Southern Italy): Small, date-shaped tomatoes that are intensely sweet and often roasted before being used in pasta dishes.

Each of these varieties has a devoted local following and is tied to specific regional dishes, proving how thoroughly the tomato has been adopted into Italy’s cultural and culinary fabric.

Tomatoes in Classic Pasta Sauces

Tomatoes are at the heart of some of Italy’s most iconic pasta sauces.

• Sugo al Pomodoro: The purest tomato sauce — garlic, olive oil, basil, and tomatoes — a dish that celebrates simplicity.

• Amatriciana (Lazio): Tomato, guanciale, pecorino, and chilli. A bold and rustic sauce.

• Arrabbiata (Rome): A fiery tomato sauce with chilli and garlic — its name means “angry.”

• Puttanesca (Naples): A sauce of tomato, olives, capers, anchovies, and chilli, salty and full of character.

• Norma (Sicily): Tomato with fried aubergine, basil, and ricotta salata. A celebration of Sicilian flavours.

• Busiate al Pesto Trapanese (Sicily): A raw tomato and almond pesto, full of freshness and body.

Each sauce tells a story of place, people, and history — but all are bound by the tomato.

The Tomato in Italian Culture

Tomatoes aren’t just ingredients in Italy — they’re symbols. They appear in folk songs, festivals, and art. In Naples, the harvest of San Marzano tomatoes is a celebrated event. In Sicily, Pachino tomatoes are so central to local pride that they have their own food festival.

Tomatoes also embody Italy’s culinary philosophy: take something humble and elevate it through tradition, care, and respect for flavour. They remind us that Italian cuisine is about balance and transformation.

Fun Facts About Tomatoes

• The word “pomodoro” (tomato in Italian) literally means “golden apple.”

• Italy is the world’s top producer of processed tomato products, from passata to canned peeled tomatoes.

• The Italian flag’s red is sometimes said to symbolise the tomato (though the official meaning is different).

• The hanging bunches of piennolo tomatoes from Mount Vesuvius are so iconic that they are depicted in Neapolitan art.

• Tomatoes were once feared as poisonous, but now Italians eat more than 50kg of tomatoes per person per year.

From Foreign Fruit to National Treasure

The story of the tomato is ultimately a story of transformation. From an exotic fruit mistrusted in Europe to the very essence of Italian cooking, it represents how cultures evolve, adopt, and create new traditions.

Today, the tomato is inseparable from Italy’s image — a true culinary love story. It shows us that identity is not fixed, but shaped over time, across oceans, and through generations of hands that cook, taste, and share.

So the next time you twirl spaghetti al pomodoro onto your fork, you’re tasting not just a dish, but centuries of history, migration, and cultural blending — all captured in the humble, glorious tomato.