Celiac Disease in Rome & Florence

Go to Google and type in :

Gluten free food in Rome
Gluten free food in Firenze
Gluten free supermercato in Rome
Gluten free supermercato in Firenze

And all kinds of information on where to buy gluten free all over Italy will appear. There is a whole community of people just like your son been there done that.

Many grocery stores have sections for gluten-free products, as do most pharmacies. Some restaurants have gluten-free menus. A friend who must not ingest gluten says Italy is one of the easiest places to buy gluten-free foods (he lives in Switzerland).

I have celiac disease as well, and I have just returned from a My Way 13 Day Tour of Italy. I was a little worried at first that I would have trouble finding gluten free foods in Italy, but it was far more plentiful than I could have imagined. Most grocery stores have a section of gluten free foods, as well as most pharmacies. In the pharmacies, you may not see it and will have to ask for it. "Senza glutine" was all I had to say and they would produce a plastic storage container full of gluten free products - many not available in the US and very tasty. In restaurants, I dined on gluten free pasta, soups, pizza, breads, bruschetta, gelato, and even tiramisu. I even tried farinata (a chickpea crust type pizza) in Monterosso! I had much better success in Italy than I have ever had in the US getting a delicious gluten free meal.

Although when I was living there Decades ago I never heard of it, now in the land of pasta there are more coeliacs than I have ever seen in the US. That includes members of my own family.
There are products "senza glutine" everywhere, as mentioned above. Actually Italian coeliacs even get them for free from the National Health Service (they should call it: Opastacare)

Even the colorful morning market at Campo di Fiori in Rome sells a variety of gluten free pastas.

In Rome try Celidoc (via Livorno 27) , which is a 100% gluten-free store. You should be able to find everything you need there! Most shops and convenience stores also sell GF snacks, as do many restaurants. You'll still need to take your normal precautions, but you should find that the food and hospitality industry in Italy can easily accommodate your son.

If your hotel includes breakfast, let them know ahead of time. Several places made sure my friend had gluten-free biscuits or crackers at breakfast.

Roberto - "opastacare" hehe.