cipolla

Numerous distinctive varieties are grown in Italy: These are in the Slow Food Presidium.

aquaviva red onion from Puglia

cipolla di Alife large white onions from Caserta, Campania, grown since Roman times

cipolla bianca di Fara Filiorum Petri medieval flattish white onion (Abruzzo)

cipolla borettana delicate, straw-couloured and with a flattish bulb, from around Reggio Emilia,

cipolla di Certaldo red onion from Certaldo in Tuscany, mentioned by Boccaccio in the Decameron

cipolla di Giarratana sweet white onion (Sicily)

cipolla paglina di Castrofilippo: very large sweet white onion from Agrigento province, Sicily, locally known as cipudda

cipolla ramata di Montoro (Avellino, in Campania) and the very sweet are In the north, many cooks favour the delicate

cipolla di Cannara onion from Umbria (PAT) is either red, golden or borettana or flat

Cipollina is a baby onion; erba cipollina is a chive.

Cannara celebrates its onions at the Festa delle Cipolle in mid-September. In July, Acquaviva delle Fonti holds a two day Festa della Cipolla Rossa; in August, Tropea in Calabria (another proud producer) holds its own red onion festival.

Spring (green) onions, cipollotti, surprisingly, are not widely used in Italy.