Vegetarian Food in Italy

Absolutely! I don't know whether you eat fish or seafood, but that is very common. If you don't the options may be more limited, but still there will be course selections without meat. Menus will usually be posted outside, so check out your options before choosing a place.

Pasta with non-meat sauces is always a vegetarian option.

It depends on how you define what type of vegetarian you are, and your tolerance for a bit of the unknown. What you may notice is that many restaurants will have items that by menu description contain no meat, but no symbol or designator that a dish is vegetarian. There are many pastas, vegetable dishes, pizza, and of course fish if you include that in your diet. What you may not be able to determine is if that vegetable risotto has some stock in it or similar use of animal products to prepare dishes. If you speak little Italian, even with English speaking waiters, trying to determine the specifics can get difficult. Find a good menu translator for reference, there are also dietary cards you can get to communicate your preferences, may not need those, but regardless, relax and enjoy.

I'm also a vegetarian, and I found Italy to be easy, much easier than many other European countries. Pastas, salads, and roasted vegs were easy to find, as well as cheese and eggs, if you eat them. Second courses are most likely to be meat or fish, but it's easy to avoid them, making meals out of the more interesting antipasti and 1st courses. And even if you're vegan, I think it would be easy. There also are wonderful fruit/veg stores, and I picked up fruits, nuts, and some veggies that didn't need cooking for simple meals when I didn't want to go out. And I brought some protein bars with me... again, mostly for convenience. Enjoy your trip!

I'm in Venice right now and my wife is vegetarian and she hasn't had any issues finding places to eat. We haven't had to look any further than the first restaurant we approached to find suitable food for her.

I too am a vegetarian and I find eating in Italy pretty easy lots of pasta choices without meat, salads, there's even pizza without cheese if you eat cheese it's even easier
you will have no problem

The vegetables are GREAT there, because the EU doesn't allow GMO. You will have no trouble finding food vegetarian is actually quite common there. My husband and I eat vegan, and we actually found some gelato places with dairy-free products! I am also gluten intolerant, so wound up eating a lot of beans and greens, but they were very good. Italians know how to prepare beans! Have fun, and congratulations on your marriage!

I have been a vegetarian for the past 4 trips to Europe. I found Italy to be the best country for vegetarians......yes you will eat a lot of pasta, but you will get awesome roasted vegetables, great selection of cheeses, the bread is amazing.

Thank you everyone for your replies. They will be very helpful. Sagar