Among the recipes that tell the soul of Tuscany, there is one fish dish that holds a place of honor: Cacciucco.
Born in the port city of Livorno, it was created by fishermen who, after selling their best catch, combined what remained — whatever the sea had offered them — to make a hearty and flavorful one-pot meal.

Cacciucco is prepared with a wide variety of fish, slowly cooked in a tomato sauce with plenty of red chili pepper, and served over slices of toasted Tuscan bread rubbed with garlic. It’s a “recycled” dish, where each fish is added to the pot at just the right moment, respecting its cooking time to achieve a perfect harmony of flavors.

Tradition says there should be thirteen kinds of fish and shellfish, though usually at least five are used — typically “soup fish.” It’s a humble recipe, unchanged through time and refined over the centuries. And although it’s a fish dish, Livornese tradition calls for an exceptional pairing: a good glass of red wine.

Between History and Legend

According to historian Paolo Zalum, Cacciucco was invented by a keeper of the “Fanale” lighthouse in Livorno. Because an edict forbade him from frying fish to avoid wasting the oil used for the lantern, he devised this poor but flavorful soup.

Others say it was born as an act of solidarity among fishermen, who offered part of their catch to the family of a colleague who hadn’t returned from sea.

Another tale describes it as a symbol of Livorno — a city of diverse peoples (Jews, Greeks, Levantines, Portuguese, and French) who came together in harmony, just like the ingredients in the soup.

Finally, there’s a story told among fishermen about Ahmet, a Turkish sailor who landed in Livorno and opened a tavern called Küçük (pronounced cuciucche). His specialty was a fish soup cooked in tomato sauce. When he visited the fish market, he would ask for small fish — küçük balık (“small fish”) — and over time, the word küçük evolved in local dialect to become cacciucco.

Even Pellegrino Artusi, in his 1891 manual La scienza in cucina e l’arte di mangiar bene (“The Science of Cooking and the Art of Eating Well”), described two versions: the Livornese one, “good but rather heavy,” and the Viareggio version, “lighter and more digestible.”

In the 1930s, painters Lorenzo Viani and Cristoforo Mercati helped popularize the dish, bringing Cacciucco to the restaurants of Viareggio — then an elegant seaside destination.

From the Port to Our Tables

Today, the original version with so many varieties of fish is rare, but at least five types are still used. According to traditional recipes, these should include rock fish, squid, cuttlefish, mantis shrimp (or prawns, scampi, or shrimps), dogfish, and moray eel, along with soup fish such as scorpionfish, gurnard, weever, and monkfish. The ingredients are simmered together in a broth of tomato and red wine, flavored with garlic, onion, sage, chili pepper, and parsley.

The Viareggio version is considered more delicate, made with sandy-bottom fish and often prepared without sautéing or garlic, resulting in an overall lighter dish.

And yet, when the aroma of Cacciucco fills the kitchen and reaches the table, one relives an ancient story born of the sea — a dish that tastes of fishing boats, harbors, and Tuscany itself: the true flavor of the sea on a plate.