Porchetta of Ariccia

Ariccia's porchetta carries a protected geographical indication: a whole pig is boned, seasoned heavily with rosemary, garlic, pepper and wild fennel, rolled around its own loin and roasted for hours until the skin cracks like glass. It is sold by weight, sliced cold or warm, and eaten in the fraschette, plain rooms with long shared tables and paper cloths that began as places selling the local wine, taking their name from the branch hung outside to show new wine was ready. The order is simple: porchetta, cheese, olives, coarse bread, house wine by the litre. Ariccia holds a porchetta festival each September.

What you actually see

• The whole roast - a boned pig rolled with fennel, rosemary and pepper.
• The fraschette - long shared tables, paper cloths, wine by the litre.
• The sale by weight - porchetta cut to order rather than plated.
• The September festival - the town's annual porchetta days.

When to go

Year-round; fraschette are busiest on weekend evenings and in the Castelli wine season. The festival falls in early September and fills the town.

Honest expectations

Fraschette are basic, loud and shared, not restaurants. Some serve only cold cuts and wine. Weekends are packed and queues are normal.

Nearby

Castel Gandolfo lies north; Frascati is northeast.