What to eat in San Marino, from Torta Tre Monti to piadina

The question of what people eat in San Marino has an honest answer that disappoints some. They eat what Romagna and the northern Marche eat, because San Marino is an enclave surrounded by those two regions. The interest lies in the details, in a couple of sweets with a local maker and in wines that barely leave its nine castelli.

Torta Tre Monti, the souvenir I’d actually buy

It’s the most San Marino product of all. A round wafer about 20 centimetres across with five layers, cocoa and hazelnut cream and a rim coated in dark chocolate, according to Italian Wikipedia. It’s made by La Serenissima, which describes itself as an old factory of handmade cakes since 1942, and besides the classic it sells pistachio and coffee versions. The name comes from the Three Towers on Mount Titano, the same ones on the San Marino flag, which I cover in my guide to the Three Towers of San Marino.

There’s a small dispute over the date. A local information site says it was born after the war, while the maker says 1942. I side with the maker, since they bake it. I’d buy it at their shop at Via XXV Marzo, 67, not at a souvenir kiosk, because that’s where you get every variety. It travels well and weighs little, which I can’t say of most souvenirs. For the rest of your shopping, tax free included, see shopping in San Marino.

It has a lesser-known cousin, the Torta Titano, made with square wafers and cocoa, coffee and hazelnut cream. There’s also a chocolate, the verretta, with hazelnut, praline and bits of wafer, named after the crossbowmen’s bolt.

Piadina, Romagna’s flatbread with a San Marino accent

Piadina Romagnola has PGI status, and its production area covers the provinces of Rimini, Forlì-Cesena and Ravenna plus a few municipalities south of Bologna. The first written mention dates from 1371, and the striped kiosks you see along the coast began in the 1970s. The dough is still soft wheat flour, water, salt and fat.

What I find curious is the thickness, which divides Romagna. Around Rimini it’s rolled thin, 2 to 3 millimetres, while in Forlì or Ravenna it’s thick. San Marino’s, according to the Consorzio Terra di San Marino as quoted by a local site, sits in between, thicker than Rimini’s. The classic filling here is stracchino, rocket and cured ham. For me it’s the best fast food of the trip, and where to eat in San Marino has prices and places to sit down.

Pasta, broth and rabbit, what you’ll see on menus

The base is Romagna cooking. Tagliatelle al ragù, strozzapreti with ragù and pecorino, polenta served on a wooden board, beans with pork rind and rabbit in porchetta. At Christmas, cappelletti in capon broth take over, and on Christmas Eve pasta with chickpeas. At Easter, roast lamb. These come from secondary sources, so I give them as what you’d expect to see, not as a specific restaurant’s menu.

Two puddings are very seasonal. Bustrengo is the Christmas sweet, with honey, walnuts and dried fruit, although another source describes it as a baked pudding of stale bread, cornmeal, raisins and figs. Both versions circulate, and I wouldn’t dare tell you which one a San Marino grandmother makes. Zuppa di ciliegie is cherries cooked in sweet red wine and served over white bread. If your trip lines up with Christmas in San Marino, that’s the time to look for bustrengo.

Wines and liqueurs that rarely leave the country

The Consorzio Vini Tipici di San Marino works with sangiovese, ribolla, moscato bianco, biancale, canino and cargarello grapes. The reds are Sangiovese, Tessano and Brugneto; the whites Roncale, Caldese, Biancale and an odd one called Grilèt; and on the sweet side there are moscatos and a passito called Oro dei Goti, the Goths’ gold. There’s a sparkling wine too, Riserva Titano. Who makes them, from which grapes and how to visit the winery is in San Marino wine.

After dinner, three liqueurs. Mistrà is anise, Duca di Gualdo is herbal and Tilus is an amaro with truffle. Ask me for a bottle to bring home and I’d take the Tilus, simply because it’s so unusual.

When to eat best

If food is your thing, one festival fits, Mi Gusto San Marino, on the central weekend of August according to a local site. There’s no 2027 date published yet, so before building a trip around it I’d check the San Marino events calendar. And if it’s Michelin stars you’re after, they’re down the hill in Italy, starting with Rimini.