Can you observe a gluten free diet in Italy? Yessiree. Our Sicily guide eats gluten free and here are her tips: ask for corn pasta. Rice pasta or is gummier.  Carry a card in Italian that says you are gluten free.  (Try out this site  http://www.celiactravel.com/cards/italian/)

All Italian food markets now carry gluten free pasta and usually a taste selection. According to NPR, there is much awareness about celiac disease in Italy and the government actually offers vouchers to citizens to buy gluten free goods.  Read more here.

The Sicilian Tourism page includes a full section on eating gluten free in Sicily.  

AIC is the Sicilian Celiac Organization; look for its logo on restaurants and check out its site if you can read Italian that is. You can always do: Select All then Copy/Paste on a document and pop into google translation. Eating at an AFC restaurant or bar means gluten free breads, pizza or ice cream with waffles also gluten free The logo tells you all are made of gluten-free raw materials, and were prepared without contamination.

Sicilian food uses chickpeas and chickpea flour and potatoes plus much seafood and non-gluten items. Besides supermarkets, gluten free goods are sold at pharmacies and natural food stores.

One can travel with almost any allergy. Here are some rules.

• Do your research first
• Bring snacks for in between times
• Write out cards defining your issue in the local languages
• Look for supermarkets to buy what you can eat if your hotel cannot offer breakfast with your limitations.
• Remember that food labels are different overseas and often you will not be able to decipher the ingredients.
• Fruits and veggies don’t always look as pretty as in North America, but they will probably taste better.
• Shelf life is usually shorter; look at dates.

Finally, don’t expect the world to lay down for your allergy; deal with it.

Our trip to Sicily and Malta is still booking: See all our trips here.

See the Sicily trip here.