La Tradizione
At La Tradizione, the more than ten prosciutti on display are cut by knife.
Why go
Gabriele Gervasi, chef de cuisine of Il Ristorante Niko Romito at the Bvlgari Hotel, does his food shopping here: It has a huge selection of artisanal cheeses and cured meats, including many from small Italian producers. It's my favorite food shop in Rome: if I need something special or a gift for a friend, this is where I go
(The Relisher, 2026). Renzo Fantucci and Valentino Belli, norcini (pork butchers) from Umbria who had come to Rome in the 1950s and worked in the city's leading salumerie, opened it in 1982. Their pupils Francesco Praticò and Stefano Lobina run it now (Gambero Rosso, 2026).
Gervasi sends readers here for two things to carry home. The first is pecorino romano: Pecorino Romano is a big part of Roman cooking and used in everything from carbonara and cacio e pepe and more. Buy it vacuum-sealed.
The second is guanciale: Guanciale Amatriciano is cured pork cheek and one of the key ingredients in Roman cooking. It's what gives pastas like carbonara much of their flavor
(The Relisher, 2026). Katie Parla bought the same two in 2017, the pecorino very salty
and locally produced,
and heaps of whole guanciale
(Fathom).
Raffaele Mosca of Gambero Rosso found the cured meats the shop's real strength: from the Slow Food Presidium mortadella of Campotosto, an almost unfindable Abruzzese sausage, to goose salami, by way of Spigaroli's culatello and artisanal prosciutti from free-range pigs.
The prosciutti include at least four from Spain, along with Nero dei Nebrodi and Mora Romagnola. Mosca's pick was the Calabrian black pig: irresistible: just rustic enough, lightly spiced, with thick fat that balances its saltiness and a gently oxidative finish.
He put the cheese selection on a par with the meats, with over 400 classics and rarities, mostly small producers from the alpine pastures of northern Italy and from France
(Gambero Rosso, 2026). Parla wrote in 2017 that the shop ages its own cheeses (Fathom). Now and then, Mosca wrote, it brings in cheesemakers and selectors to present their cheeses and pour tastings in the shop. Mosca described a room that is simple, far from the boutique look of many modern food shops, rather small and almost always crowded
(Gambero Rosso, 2026).
Order this / avoid
- Order: the prosciutto of suino nero calabrese (Calabrian black pig), Raffaele Mosca's pick (Gambero Rosso, 2026).2
- Order: pecorino romano, vacuum-sealed, as Gabriele Gervasi says to buy it (2026), and
very salty
to Katie Parla (2017).1 - Order: guanciale amatriciano, Gervasi's other staple (2026).1
What locals & experts say
- Katie Parla, Fathom (2017):
I routinely cross town to shop at this fabulous gourmet shop and deli north of the Vatican.
3 - Raffaele Mosca, Gambero Rosso (2026):
in 2007 Class named the shop among the world's best food shops, beside legendary names such as Fauchon in Paris and Peck in Milan.
2
Good to know
- Closed: Sunday. Parla reported it open through August 2026 except 15 August.
- Getting there: Via Cipro 8E in Trionfale, opposite the Cipro stop on Metro A, near the Vatican Museums.
- Also on the shelves: preserves, ready dishes and leavened goods, among them casatielli that a trusted baker makes with the shop's own products (Gambero Rosso, 2026). Parla came away with dried pasta, traditional balsamic, olive oil and wine from her favorite Friulian producer, Damijan Podversic (2017).
- Not the same door: Secondo Tradizione, the founders' bistrot on Via Rialto, is a separate place.
Verdict
could-visit — Take the metro to Cipro for the cheese and salumi shop the Bvlgari's chef de cuisine sends you to for pecorino and guanciale. Ask for the Calabrian black pig prosciutto, and come any day but Sunday.