What exactly are Abruzzese arrosticini?

Skewers of sheep (or young castrato) meat cut into ~1 cm cubes, alternating with small pieces of ovine fat, threaded onto a birch or bamboo stick about 20 cm long. They weigh between 20 and 30 grams, are seasoned only with salt, and are cooked exclusively over charcoal on a narrow grill called a fornacella or canala. A traditional arrosticino is made only from ovine meat: anything else (chicken, turkey, pork) is a skewer, not an arrosticino.

When and where were arrosticini born?

In the 1930s, on the south-eastern slopes of the Gran Sasso, in the Piana del Voltigno area, at the border of the provinces of Pescara, Teramo, and L'Aquila. Legend attributes the invention to two Voltigno shepherds who slaughtered an old ewe, cut the meat into cubes, threaded it onto vingh twigs (a plant found along the Pescara river), and cooked it over the embers of an improvised channel — which is how the grill got its name: canala/canalina.

What is the difference between machine-made and hand-made arrosticini?

Machine-made arrosticini have uniform 1 cm cubes, neat and aesthetically perfect — the most common version in restaurants. Hand-made arrosticini have irregular pieces, with variable layering of lean and fat: the result is more rustic, more intense, but requires higher-quality meat to withstand a longer cooking time. True enthusiasts prefer hand-made, but there are only a handful of specialist butchers who still know how to make them.

Can you make arrosticini at home without a fornacella?

Technically yes, but the result will be different. The fornacella is designed to concentrate heat on the meat while keeping the wood cool: without it, the skewer burns or falls apart. At home you can use a traditional barbecue with a narrow grill (placing the coals to the sides of the cubes, not directly below) or a small electric fornacella for small quantities. Never cook them in the oven or in a pan: the meat becomes dry and chewy, and without the embers it simply isn't an arrosticino.

How many arrosticini are in a serving?

The standard amount for one adult is 15–20 arrosticini (300–400 grams), paired with rustic bread drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil (pane 'onde) and Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. But it's perfectly normal to go over 30 per person at a picnic or sagra: arrosticini are by definition a communal food, not an individual one. They are cooked and eaten in large quantities among friends and family — never alone.

What are the traditional variants of arrosticini?

The only historically recognized traditional variant is the liver arrosticino (known as 'fect' or di 'fect'), typical of the Val Pescara and Chieti area: pieces of ovine liver alternating with small pieces of fat, sometimes with onion or a bay leaf. All other variants (chicken, turkey, pork) are commercial skewers, not traditional arrosticini. Be wary of places outside the region serving 'chicken arrosticini' as if they were Abruzzese.

Why are arrosticini said to be eaten with your hands?

Three reasons: first, the wooden skewer is designed to be held (the tip stays cool during cooking thanks to the shape of the fornacella); second, the convivial ritual calls for a direct gesture, sharing, no cutlery; third, arrosticini must be eaten piping hot, immediately, and your hands are the fastest way. At quality venues they're served in terracotta bowls or wrapped in foil to keep them warm, but consumption remains manual.

Is there an official specification for arrosticini?

There is no DOP or IGP yet. Arrosticini are listed among the Italian Traditional Agri-food Products (PAT) of Abruzzo, a recognition granted by the MASAF (Ministry of Agriculture). The PAT confirms the product's traditional character but does not bind the production area or meat quality. For quality, rely on specialist butchers and historic producers from the Voltigno and Val Pescara: Civitella Casanova, Villa Celiera, Farindola, Civitaquana, Catignano, and Pianella are the historic reference municipalities.

Abruzzese arrosticini: history, tradition & recipe

There are very few food products that can sum up an entire region in a single gesture. The arrosticino abruzzese is one of them. A thirty-centimeter wooden skewer, a sequence of cubed sheep meat alternating with small squares of fat, coarse salt as the only seasoning, cooked over a glowing charcoal fornacella. Eaten standing up, with your hands, in good company, alongside crusty bread drizzled with olive oil and a glass of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. This isn't a snack: it's a pastoral liturgy that survived the twentieth century and has since become an international icon.

The arrosticino is probably the most recognizable agricultural product of Abruzzo. From the province of Pescara where it was born, it spread across all of Italy, and from there went on to conquer Europe and the United States. The production sector today counts around 80 companies, 12,000 workers, and a turnover of approximately one billion euros. And yet, paradoxically, the arrosticino is now at the center of an identity and legal battle that divides farmers, industrialists, politicians, and consumers alike: IGP or DOP? Abruzzese or imported meat? Artisan craft or industrial supply chain?

In this guide, we tell you everything: the history (with all its contradictory versions), the dialect, the right meat, the traditional skewer, the fornacella, the debate over protection labels, where to eat them, how to make them at home, and what to look for when you buy them. This is the first article in Stravagando's series on arrosticino culture: in the coming days we'll be publishing in-depth pieces on local festivals, top addresses, and the traditional recipe.

What a real arrosticino is

A traditional arrosticino is a wooden skewer about 30 centimeters long, threaded with an alternating sequence of lean sheep meat cubes and small squares of ovine fat, each about one centimeter on a side. The number of cubes varies from 8 to 12 depending on local tradition. There is only one seasoning: coarse salt, applied during or immediately after cooking. No marinade, no oil, no aromatic herbs, no spices. Cooking takes place over charcoal embers — never gas, never in an oven: only the embers produce the characteristic char.

A real arrosticino is not simply a grilled sheep meat skewer. It is a precise, codified preparation, with rules handed down by the shepherds of the Gran Sasso hills around Pescara. Anything that deviates from these parameters — longer skewers, bigger cubes, pork or chicken, marinades, complex seasonings — is a variation, a borrowing, or an imitation, but not a traditional arrosticino.

There are codified regional variations: in the Val Pescara, the sheep liver arrosticino is popular, in which the lean meat cubes are replaced with fresh liver. This is a historically accepted variant. All other "variants" using meats other than ovine (chicken, turkey, pork, beef) are recent interpretations, often produced outside the region, and carry only the "spirit" of the arrosticino — not its tradition.

Origins: between the 1930s and the licenses of 1819

There are two main historiographical versions of the arrosticino's origins — both credible, but not perfectly reconcilable.

The most widespread version in oral tradition, supported by numerous culinary sources, places the invention of the arrosticino in the 1930s: two shepherds from the Voltigno area (province of Pescara) reportedly decided to slaughter an old, no-longer-productive ewe, making use of all usable meat from the front cuts (belly, shoulder, neck, back, brisket). They cut the meat into small cubes to better separate it from the connective tissue, alternating it with squares of fat, and cooked it over the embers. It was a humble, zero-waste dish, born from people who lived by shepherding and had to make use of every part of the animal.

An older historiographical version comes from the municipality of Civitella Casanova (PE), which holds in its archives the earliest licenses for the sale of arrosticini, dating back to 1819 — documents not found in neighboring municipalities or bordering provinces. On this basis, Civitella Casanova claims the title of "the town that invented the arrosticino," pushing the invention back by more than a century relative to the traditional version.

The two theories are not necessarily contradictory: it's possible that ovine meat skewers were informally cooked over embers by Voltigno shepherds as far back as the nineteenth century (which would explain the 1819 licenses in Civitella Casanova), and that the modern codification of the arrosticino — with standardized dimensions, cubed cuts, organized commercialization — took shape in the 1930s through the work of local shepherds and butchers. The Ginestra butcher shop (known as "Delio") in Villa Celiera, active since 1946, is considered one of the historical reference points for the modern codification of the arrosticino.

Scholar Francesco Avolio identified the arrosticino's area of origin as the territory straddling the municipalities of the Voltigno zone: Farindola, Villa Celiera, Civitella Casanova, Civitaquana, Catignano, Pianella, and Rosciano — all in the province of Pescara.

The Voltigno: the arrosticino's homeland

The Voltigno is a mountainous area on the eastern slopes of the Gran Sasso, in the province of Pescara, now partially within the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park, with the Voltigno e Valle d'Angri Regional Nature Reserve. It is a land of pastures, of historic transhumance toward the Tavoliere delle Puglie, of uninterrupted sheep farming for centuries. The "historic" municipalities of the arrosticino are all here, between 300 and 700 meters in elevation, on the flanks of the massif. It is in this area that the technical and gastronomic culture of the arrosticino developed: the cut, the cooking, the pairings, the sagre, the historic butcher shops.

From here, the arrosticino spread outward in an ever-widening circle: first to neighboring municipalities in the provinces of Pescara and Teramo, then throughout the region, then across the rest of Italy. In the 1980s, with Abruzzo's first great tourist success, the arrosticino began its transformation from a local product into a regional icon; with the growth of arrosticinifici and themed restaurant chains, it also became an industrial phenomenon.

The dialect: rustelle, rrustell, rrusht

The arrosticino has numerous dialect variants in Abruzzese, all derived from the Italian words "arrosto" (roast) or "arrostino":

Rustelle (or "rrustelle"): the most common form in the Teramo area and in the hilly Pescara zone.
Rustell or rrustell: the form used in the mountain Pescara area (Villa Celiera, Farindola).
Rrusht: the form used in some areas of the L'Aquila province and in more isolated hamlets.
Arrustèlle: a southern variant, closer to the Chieti and Molise dialects.

All forms point to cooking over embers as the defining element. In contemporary usage, even among dialect speakers, the Italian form "arrosticino" (also in the singular, "un arrosticino") is increasingly common, while in families and rural contexts the dialect term survives — often used in the plural ("Stasera facciamo le rrustelle" / "Tonight we're doing the rrustelle").

The right meat

Traditional arrosticini are made exclusively with ovine meat. The historical options, in descending order of tradition:

Adult ewe (3–7 years): the historic version, the shepherds' version. Flavorful, dark, slightly firmer meat. Cuts used: belly, shoulder, neck, back, brisket. The very invention of the arrosticino arose from the need to make use of the "less noble" cuts of ewes that were no longer productive.
Castrato (adult castrated male): more tender than ewe, with an intense flavor — the most popular choice in quality restaurants today.
Ciavarra (young ewe, in dialect): tender but flavorful. An "intermediate" version between adult ewe and lamb.
Agnello (lamb): tender but less intense in flavor, used mainly in gourmet dining and in products aimed at extra-regional markets, where customers prefer a more delicate taste.

The Val Pescara variant with sheep liver replaces the lean meat cubes with fresh liver cubes, keeping the fat squares. Bold flavor, much loved by tradition purists.

The meat-to-fat ratio is crucial for a successful result: traditionally it hovers around 80–85% meat and 15–20% fat, but proportions vary according to each butcher's tradition. The fat is what, as it melts over the embers, gives the arrosticino its characteristic juiciness and charred aroma.

The skewer: sanguinella wood

The traditional wood for arrosticino skewers is sanguinella, known in the Pescara dialect as "vingh": a shrub of the Cornaceae family (Cornus sanguinea) very common in the hedgerows and woodland edges of the Voltigno. Sanguinella twigs are smooth, straight, of uniform diameter, slightly flexible, and — crucially — do not release bitter or resinous flavors into the meat during cooking.

Today, for mass-production reasons, commercial skewers are almost all made of bamboo (pre-treated or natural), uniform and sterilized. Artisan butchers and traditional sagre continue in many cases to use sanguinella, especially for small-batch production.

A fornacella — the narrow charcoal grill — with Abruzzese arrosticini cooking over the embers

The fornacella: the channel of fire

The fornacella, also called canalina, is the traditional grill for arrosticini. It is a narrow, elongated metal structure (typically 80–120 cm long by 10–15 cm wide) that holds the charcoal embers below and supports the skewers above, perpendicular to the heat, with the wooden handles pointing outward. The narrow shape ensures that each arrosticino sits directly over the flames, while the handles remain cool enough to grab.

Cooking on a fornacella requires glowing charcoal embers (never fresh wood, never gas), and typically takes 2–4 minutes per side, with at least one turn per skewer. Salting happens during cooking or immediately after — never before (which would draw moisture out of the meat). Arrosticini are served piping hot: temperature is an essential part of the experience.

At sagre and professional arrosticinifici, fornacelle several meters long are used (even 4–5 meters), allowing 50–100 arrosticini to cook simultaneously. It is a spectacle in its own right, both visual and olfactory: the scent of ovine fat dripping onto charcoal, the aromatic smoke rising, the neat row of skewers rotating in place.

PAT, IGP, DOP: the "label wars"

The arrosticino is currently at the center of a legal and economic battle over origin certification — still unresolved. Here is the current state of play.

PAT — Traditional Agri-food Product (granted)

The arrosticino has been listed for many years in the register of Italian Traditional Agri-food Products (PAT), managed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty, and Forests (MASAF, formerly Mipaaf). The PAT is a ministerial recognition attesting to a product's traditional character (at least 25 years of documented production), but it does not constitute a binding specification for producers. It is a cultural label, not a commercial protection mark.

IGP — Protected Geographical Indication (under review)

The process for recognizing the IGP "Arrosticino d'Abruzzo" has been underway for years. The Regional Association of Abruzzo Arrosticini Producers, established in 2018, drafted a regional specification that was approved by the Abruzzo Region: this specification requires that processing and preparation take place in Abruzzo, but allows the use of imported ovine meat from other European countries (mainly France, Spain, Ireland, and Romania).

The IGP route is supported mainly by Confagricoltura and the processing industries, which today represent the bulk of the sector: 80 companies, 12,000 workers, a turnover of around one billion euros. Without imported meat, they argue, the sector could not survive at its current scale: today Abruzzo raises approximately 150,000 head of sheep (of which 130,000 are destined for milk production), while 700,000 head per year are processed into arrosticini.

DOP — Protected Designation of Origin (application in progress)

Part of the agricultural world, led by Coldiretti Abruzzo, is instead pushing for DOP recognition, which would require meat that is exclusively Abruzzese from birth to slaughter. The DOP is considered the only truly authentic protection for the territory and local farmers, but is "practically impossible to achieve in the short term" according to Confagricoltura, given the scarcity of regional raw material.

In March 2025, the Abruzzo Region, on a resolution presented to the Agriculture Committee, decided to pursue both labels (DOP and IGP) in parallel: the former for the "purely Abruzzese" version, the latter for the industrial version using also imported meat. The process is ongoing at the MASAF. The technical study for the DOP was commissioned by the Region from the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale di Teramo.

What this means for you as a consumer

Today, when you buy a pack of arrosticini at the supermarket or order them at a restaurant, there is no legal guarantee about the meat's origin. It could be Abruzzese, Italian, European, or extra-European. The word "arrosticino" is not yet protected by any EU trademark, and anyone can sell as "arrosticino" any sheep or other meat skewer they like. If you want to be certain you're eating a genuinely Abruzzese arrosticino, the only current route is to buy from historic butcher shops, local sagre, or short-supply-chain arrosticinifici.

Numbers behind a sector

The arrosticino is an important industry for the Abruzzo economy. The most recent data tells this story:

80 companies dedicated to arrosticini production in Abruzzo.
12,000 workers directly or indirectly employed in the sector.
Turnover of approximately 1 billion euros generated by the processing industry.
700,000 head of sheep per year processed into arrosticini in Abruzzo.
150,000 head of sheep raised in Abruzzo (of which 130,000 destined for milk, 20,000 for meat).
In the 1950s and 1960s, Abruzzo counted over 2 million sheep: the decline of shepherding has reduced the ovine stock by more than 90%.
Exports go mainly to Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom (with a large Abruzzese diaspora community), and the United States.

Market categories: artisan, semi-industrial, industrial

Today's market features three main categories of arrosticini, with very different quality levels and price points:

Handmade artisan

Meat hand-cut into cubes by the butcher, hand-threaded onto the skewer, generally using Italian (often Abruzzese) ovine meat. Intense flavor, irregular cubes, higher price (~€1.50–2.50 per skewer at retail). This is the product of the historic Voltigno butcher shops and the best arrosticinifici.

Semi-industrial

Meat cut with industrial machines ("cubettatrici") that produce uniform cubes, then threaded by hand or by machine. Abruzzese or Italian ovine meat, sometimes mixed. Good quality, mid-range price (~€0.80–1.30 per skewer) — the most common product in restaurants and at sagre.

Industrial

Meat cut and threaded by high-speed industrial machines, from large facilities processing hundreds of thousands of animals per year. Often imported ovine meat (France, Spain, Romania, Ireland). Acceptable but standardized quality, low price (~€0.40–0.70 per skewer at the supermarket) — the product of large-scale distribution and export.

How to eat them: ritual and pairings

The arrosticino is convivial food: eaten in company, standing or sitting, with your hands, at speed. The typical ritual:

You order in multiples of 10. Common orders are "twenty," "thirty," "fifty," or even "twenty and twenty" (meaning 20 per person). An average adult eats 15–25 in a generous evening.
They are served stacked in a tall glass, so the fat drips downward and the meat stays hot. This is the classic "glass presentation" that is the visual signature of an arrosticinificio.
They come with pane unto: a slice of rustic bread warmed over the embers and rubbed with extra-virgin olive oil, and optionally salt and garlic. The traditional order "20 e olio" ("twenty and oil") means 20 arrosticini plus the bread.
They are paired with Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (young red or riserva), or Cerasuolo (fresh rosé), or Abruzzese craft beer. Sparkling water also works for the alcohol-free purists.
Arrosticini are meant to be eaten hot: straight off the fornacella, they need to be consumed immediately, or they lose their defining contrast of melted fat and charred meat.

Typical side dishes: rosemary roast potatoes, roasted peppers, mixed salad, fresh caciotta or pecorino, and optionally ventricina vastese (the cured meat typical of southern Chieti) as a starter.

Where to eat arrosticini in Abruzzo

You can eat arrosticini everywhere in Abruzzo, but certain places have become pilgrimage destinations for purists: the historic butcher shops of Villa Celiera, the arrosticinifici of the Voltigno municipalities (Civitella Casanova, Farindola, Civitaquana, Catignano), the rural roadside spots of Atessa and the Teramo hinterland, the gastronomic restaurants of the L'Aquila area. In our dedicated guide to the best arrosticinifici and restaurants in Abruzzo (coming soon), we've selected the addresses worth the journey, with details on atmosphere, prices, reservations, and specialties.

Arrosticino festivals

From May to October, Abruzzo hosts dozens of arrosticino festivals, from the historic and crowd-pulling events to the small village sagre organized by local Pro Loco associations. The most important and oldest is Villa Celiera in Sagra (XXXIII edition in 2025), which every August draws thousands of visitors to Villa Celiera (PE). Other notable festivals include "L'Arrosticciere in Piazza" in Civitaquana (PE, in October) and the many summer sagre in the Voltigno municipalities. For the full calendar and logistical details, check out our guide to arrosticino festivals (coming soon).

How to make arrosticini at home

Making arrosticini at home is possible, but it requires one non-negotiable prerequisite: a canala (fornacella) and charcoal embers. A frying pan, oven, stovetop grill, air fryer, or gas barbecue: none of these produce arrosticini — they produce cooked cubed sheep meat. For the detailed traditional recipe, with recommended cuts, meat-to-fat ratios, precise timings, and an explanation of why only the canala delivers a true arrosticino, see our traditional arrosticini recipe guide (coming soon).

Curiosities and expressions

The arrosticino has entered everyday Abruzzese speech through expressions that go well beyond food:

"Andare a rrustelle": to go out for an informal, convivial dinner with friends at an arrosticinificio or a sagra.
"20 e olio": the standard order — 20 arrosticini plus pane unto. It has become slang for a quick, hearty, quintessentially Abruzzese meal.
"Mangiare a calci": to eat an exaggerated number of arrosticini in one evening (a hyperbolic expression).
In many Abruzzese families, the tradition of "counting" arrosticini at the end of dinner as a measure of satisfaction still lives on. Typical tallies for an adult: 15 = a normal meal, 25 = generous, 40 = "memorable."

Arrosticini beyond Abruzzo

The arrosticino crossed regional borders mainly from the 1990s onward, coinciding with Abruzzo's first major tourist boom and with the Abruzzese diaspora toward Rome and northern Italy. Today you'll find it on the menus of countless trattorias and delis across central and northern Italy, from specialist spots in Rome and Milan to the "spaccate-arrosticini" of smaller towns. Quality varies enormously: outside Abruzzo, you often encounter "arrosticini-style" skewers made with chicken, turkey, or pork, which keep only the skewer format while losing the ovine identity entirely.

A real arrosticino festival even exists in Riano (near Rome, 20 km north of the capital), which in 2024 reached its eighth edition: a sign of how the arrosticino has earned a kind of "honorary citizenship" beyond its home region, while remaining an unmistakably Abruzzese product at heart.

Frequently asked questions about Abruzzese arrosticini

What is the difference between an arrosticino and a meat skewer?

An arrosticino is a specific type of skewer: approximately 30 cm in length, made exclusively of ovine meat (ewe, castrato, lamb, or — in the Val Pescara variant — liver), with ~1 cm cubes alternating with fat, cooked on a charcoal fornacella, seasoned with salt only. Any skewer with different characteristics (different lengths, mixed or non-ovine meats, marinades) is a meat skewer, but not a traditional arrosticino.

Is an arrosticino made from lamb or sheep?

Traditionally it is made from adult ewe, ideally a no-longer-productive animal, using the front cuts. In the modern version it is also made from castrato (adult castrated male), which gives greater tenderness. Lamb is a more recent choice, mainly for the gourmet market and for consumers who prefer a milder flavor.

Do Abruzzese arrosticini have IGP status?

Not yet. They have been an Italian Traditional Agri-food Product (PAT) for many years, but the European IGP label is still under review at the MASAF. In March 2025, the Abruzzo Region decided to also simultaneously pursue DOP status (exclusively Abruzzese meat), considered the strongest protection for local farmers.

How many arrosticini does one person eat?

It depends on your appetite and the occasion. A normal meal for an adult: 15–20. A generous meal: 25–30. A "memorable" evening with friends and wine: 40+. At sagre, orders are often placed by weight or portion (e.g., "a portion of 10" or "a portion of 20").

What do they cost on average?

Retail prices range from €0.40 (industrial, supermarket) to €2.50 (high-quality artisan) per skewer. In restaurants, a standard portion of 10 arrosticini costs between €8 and €15. At sagre, prices tend to be very affordable: €5–8 for 10 arrosticini.

Can they be frozen?

Yes, arrosticini can be frozen raw (approximately 3–6 months at -18°C) and then cooked directly from frozen (with slightly longer cooking times). The quality of the frozen product is lower than fresh, but acceptable. Many arrosticinifici sell frozen packs for home delivery anywhere in Italy.

Are there vegetarian or vegan arrosticini?

There are vegetarian and vegan "arrosticino-style" interpretations (with seitan, tofu, grilled vegetables, cheese), produced mainly by gourmet food shops and at some vegan festivals. These are not traditional arrosticini, however: by definition, an arrosticino is made of ovine meat. For those who don't eat meat, the best "spiritual" alternative is traditional roasted peppers and Abruzzese caciotta grilled over embers, which recreate the convivial ritual of the arrosticino with plant-based or dairy ingredients.

Can I order them online for delivery outside the region?

Yes, many Abruzzese arrosticinifici ship across Italy (and in some cases abroad), with refrigerated or frozen delivery. Typical shipping costs: €10–15 for a pack of 100–200 arrosticini. Delivery quality varies, but some historic producers guarantee fresh products delivered within 24–48 hours.

Experience arrosticini with Stravagando

The arrosticino is not just food: it is an authentic Abruzzese cultural experience. The difference between eating an arrosticino from a supermarket and savoring one fresh off the fornacella at a village sagra in the Voltigno is the same as the difference between reading a book and living its story. To truly discover it, you need to go to the right places, talk to the shepherds, attend the sagre, and get to know the historic butchers.

Stravagando is the Italian marketplace dedicated to exactly these kinds of experiences: tours of the historic arrosticinifici of the Voltigno, visits to traditional butcher shops, privileged access to arrosticino festivals, traditional preparation classes with Abruzzese butchers, "arrosticino + Abruzzese wine" food and wine journeys guided by local sommeliers. We are building our catalog of gastronomic experiences in Abruzzo over these coming weeks: in the months ahead, you'll be able to book directly from here.

In the meantime, if you are a butcher, arrosticinificio, farmer, specialist restaurateur, festival organizer, or Abruzzese ovine meat producer and want to join our network, get in touch: you're exactly who we're looking for.

And if you're a traveler, sign up for the Stravagando newsletter: we'll let you know as soon as the first arrosticino experiences are bookable online — with transparent pricing, verified hosts, and editorial curation that we promise will feel different from the big generalist marketplaces.

Buon viaggio.