Territories of the Earth
How this part of the site works
Welcome to the section dedicated to the political and geo-cultural territories of the Earth. This is not a collection of individual recipes, but a guide to the places where traditional dishes and local products have developed and taken root over time.
To better reflect the rich geography of taste, we’ve chosen to divide Earth both by political-administrative divisions (continents, countries, provinces, cities…) and by geo-cultural regions (historical, natural, cultural, or environmental areas).
This dual approach captures the complexity of food geography without sacrificing accessibility. The political structure ensures that every part of Earth is represented—even those that don’t belong to any major geo-cultural region. The geo-cultural structure, on the other hand, shows how certain dishes transcend borders and reflect shared environments, traditions, or histories. However, it’s important to note that the two systems do not follow a strictly parallel or symmetrical logic.
Political structure
The political structure is the true backbone of the site: it is structured, consistent, and follows a top-down logic. It begins with Earth, divided into continents; each continent is then broken down into countries, and each country into progressively smaller administrative units, down to the lowest levels of legal jurisdiction (such as provinces, regions, or districts, depending on local systems).
For the sake of consistency, we recognize as “countries” only those nations officially acknowledged by the United Nations. All other entities that claim independence are treated as part of the territory from which they seek to separate.
Geo-cultural structure
Geo-cultural regions are included only when they are clearly recognizable and genuinely useful for understanding a gastronomic context. Unlike the political structure, they are not divided into smaller subregions. This choice is based on two main considerations:
- Many areas do not belong to any significant geo-cultural region and would otherwise be excluded;
- Larger geo-cultural regions often include numerous subregions that are too complex to summarize within a single article.
Nonetheless, each subregion is linked to its broader macroregion, ensuring consistent and intuitive navigation.
For example, the Italian region is a macroregion that includes countries such as Italy, San Marino, Vatican City, Monaco, and others. Within this macroregion, there are subregions like Southern Italy. However, on the site, you won’t find the Southern Italy article linked directly from the Italian region page. Instead, it is accessible through the Italy article, which includes both its administrative divisions and, when relevant, its local geo-cultural subregions.
Where to find recipes and food products
Recipes and traditional food products are listed under the highest territorial level where they are considered typical. If a dish is representative of an entire country, it will appear on that country’s article. If it belongs to a more specific area, it will be listed under the appropriate region, province, or other administrative unit.
The same principle applies to geo-cultural regions, although in a less rigid way, since these areas do not follow a strict hierarchical structure. Still, macroregions and their subregions are conceptually connected. So, for example, if a recipe is marked as typical of the Italian region, it should also be considered relevant to its cultural subregions, such as Southern Italy, even if those are not explicitly linked from the main Italian region article.
Moreover, when a recipe is included under a geo-cultural region, it is usually also listed within the relevant political units. This ensures users can access the same content whether they navigate by political divisions or cultural geography.
In the articles dedicated to recipes and food products, furthermore, each entry clearly states where a recipe or product is traditionally found. When relevant, it first indicates the geo-cultural region, followed by the political units that compose it; if no geo-cultural region applies, the political structure alone is used to locate the origin.
Naming Conventions
- Countries: always named in English.
- Administrative units (provinces, regions, etc.), geo-cultural regions, geographical features (rivers, lakes, mountains), monuments: named in English, when an English version exists.
- Recipes: shown with the original name first, followed by the English name in parentheses, if available
Notes:
- If a name is not originally in English and uses a non-Latin alphabet, the transliteration appears outside parentheses, while the original name in its native script is placed within parentheses.
- Even though all political entities are referred to in English throughout the site (when an English name exists), the original-language name is always included in the article dedicated to that entity.
Start Your Journey!
Now that you understand how the site is structured, you can begin exploring the world’s food traditions right from the places where they were born and took root.
Your starting point is the Earth article, from which all other divisions and paths branch out: