If you're anything like us, you travel to eat and drink your way through the cultures of the world, shamelessly plugging five meals a day into your itineraries in the name of research, gluttony, and personal glory. There's nothing more gratifying than finally eating that Bistecca alla Fiorentina we read about months ago or feeling ultra-cool when we discover a street cart other tourists are missing — am I right?

No destination inspires our belt-loosening and chest-bumping bravado more than Italy. But the reality is that there just isn't enough time on one vacation to eat everything we aspire to. That's why it's time to take the culinary tour of Italy home with you and cook your way through the Italian canon at your own pace, with plenty of breaks in between for digestion and collecting yourself. With these six cookbooks, you can cook alongside some of the most accomplished authors, peek into the kitchen at Italy's best restaurants, and finally master the art of cooking and eating your way through Italy.