Typical products of Senigallia Good flavours and genuine foods on your table

Senigallia, a seaside town, finds its gastronomic roots in the daily catch of the Adriatic Sea: anchovies, sardines, mackerels, horse mackerels, mullets, octopus, squids, soles, squills, grey mullets, clams and mussels.

Grigliata and Fritto misto dell’Adriatico are two traditional dishes not to be missed on Senigallia’s tables. Fish is grilled with breadcrumbs seasoned with fresh garlic and parsley. Mixed fried fish cannot do without local fish varieties (called in dialect zanchette, guattoli, parazzola). Brodetto senigalliese is the king dish. The authentic recipe from the harbour includes 13 different kinds of fish and seafood, slowly cooked in a sautéed mixture of finely chopped onions, tomatoes (better if tomato concentrate), and vinegar. 

Both grilled and fried fish from the Adriatic Sea cannot be served without the white wines from the hills surrounding Senigallia: Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi and Bianchello del Metauro.  

The hinterland offers a rich variety of tasty “country” foods. In summer, amongst the dishes of the farming tradition, you will surprisingly find oca arrosto (roasted goose). A typical dish of Christmas lunch is the famous salsiccia matta, literally speaking “the mad sausage”, which can be only be purchased is some selected butcher’s shops in the town centre. In Senigallia you will also appreciate the very tasty porchetta, savoury, fatty, boneless pork meat slowly cooked in a wood-burning oven and seasoned with wild fennel. Porchetta goes hand in hand with a good glass of Lacrima di Morro d’Alba, a red wine from the local hills, while for roast meats the recommended wine is Rosso Conero, a valuable Montepulciano variety steeped in the smell of the Adriatic Sea.  

A typical product of Senigallia’s tradition is pizza con il formaggio, a sort of a salted brioche with pepper and cheese that was traditionally prepared to celebrate Easter. It is the triumph of pecorino, a sheep’s milk cheese, with a mix of dry grated cheese and tiny bits of fresh cheese.  

Ciambellone is a fluffy homemade cake that can be enjoyed every day and at Christmas with vino di visciole, a sweet wine made of sour cherries macerated in sugar and red wine (usually Sangiovese). During the grape harvesting season, all bakeries in town prepare ciambelle con il mosto, anisette-scented ring-shaped cakes made with grape-must.

Senigallia also boasts a long extra-virgin olive oil tradition. The hills overlooking the sea are especially suited for growing olive trees that produce a highly valued Raggia monovarietal oil produced by several local farmers. 

Another typical product of the old farming history of Senigallia hinterland (which was produced in the past by the Monks in Fonte Avellana monastery) is Salame di Frattula, a salami that meets the WPF food specifications – which require the use of pigs raised outdoors in compliance with the European Standards on animal welfare – in a very small area north of Ancona Province that includes a portion of Senigallia Municipality (Scapezzano and Roncitelli). 

Senigallia pays great attention to the bread supply chain, from sowing to production and marketing. Several experiences aimed at giving value to local bread making are now a fact. Bread is produced with wheats cultivated in Senigallia and in the surrounding Municipalities, worked in local stone mills (both old and modern ones), produced according to local traditions and distributed by bakers in several points of sale in Senigallia.