Wherever you are, Sunday lunch means, traditionally, two things: good food and family. In the old days, when activities were still largely organized around Sunday morning mass, the family cook would attend the earliest function and then go back home to get to work in the kitchen. For everyone else, it was mass in the late morning and then, finally, il pranzo della domenica. 

Telling exactly what Italians eat – and used to eat – during a typical Sunday lunch is far from simple because here – perhaps more than on other occasions – it all comes down to a family’s habits and customs. While we can make an educated guess about what Sicilians might eat on Easter and Tuscans during Christmas, there are no strict culinary traditions for Sundays.