If you want a “continental” Breakfast in La Spezia, that will probably only happen in your hotel. We suggest that you should go for the most local Cappuccino breakfast experience. Having breakfast in La Spezia is different from other Italian cities and similar to other places in Liguria, with Focaccia bread dipped in Cappuccino. It is also quite tricky for non-local Italians to understand this passion. So remember, after trying this, “Please focaccia dipped in cappuccino” might be a strange request in other Italian places. 

One must start with a few simple considerations, the basic rules for breakfast focaccia.

1- Take it easy: breakfast is made to take stock of the world

 Who is in a hurry in the morning can not be a Ligurian. Breakfast is critical: you can only enjoy focaccia and Cappuccino (or latte and focaccia) if you are willing to invest some time in breakfast. For this reason:

• We reject the Italian way of breakfast, standing at the bar
• It would be best if you focused on what you are having

The focaccia and Cappuccino breakfast is a meditation habit. Enjoy while sitting, eavesdropping on conversations around you, mumbling about events of the day before or what the newspaper reports. Without the mumbling, breakfast tastes less.

2 – The focaccia is never too big and – most importantly – has only one right size!

But how do you fit the focaccia into the cup? “It’s too big! “ says the unwary. Absolutely not. This idea sounds totally absurd for a Ligurian.

Two facts:

• the focaccia is never too large;
• The breakfast focaccia cannot be prepared in a round shape or too large a rectangle but cut into strips. Outside Liguria, it may seem absurd, but a Ligurian will recognize at first glance a focaccia bread ready to be soaked into the cup of milky coffee (or Cappuccino) at breakfast.

3 – Oil in the milk? No way!

Focaccia bread is good because it is oily. However, many cannot accept dipping oily food in Cappuccino. If you think this too, there is still hope because it simply means you use the wrong technique and dip the bread too briefly.

The true Ligurian breakfast champions measure the correct period of the dip in the focaccia in their Cappuccino (or Latte). It must be neither for too long to excessively soak the focaccia, but not too short either. When your focaccia sponges quite all the liquid and no oil slick floats on the surface of your drink, perfection is reached.

The breakfast with focaccia and Cappuccino still seems absurd to you? You are not a Ligurian breakfast guy.

We advise you to avoid its most extreme version: in Genoa, many dip focaccia with onions in their latte!