It pays to bone up (pun intended!) on different kinds of meats, cheeses, pastas, sauces, and wines before heading to Italy. You will encounter countless ingredients and dishes when you get to Italy. Only if you learn a little bit in advance will you be able to enjoy the best of Italy's food and wine — in keeping with your own tastes.

• ITALIAN FOOD FOREVER

  This is the website of an English-speaking woman who married into a large, Italian family, who taught her to cook traditional food from “the Old Country.” The site's glossary is exceptionally thorough in offering the Italian words for specific menu items that you might see, such as affettato (cold cuts served as an appetizer), bavette (a type of pasta), and capsicum (bell pepper).

• ITALIAN FOOD AT ABOUT.COM

  Classic dishes, quick and easy recipes, the basics of Italian cooking, desserts, pastas, and so much more. This website has a lot to offer cooks of all skill levels who want to dive right into Italian cooking.

• LIFE IN ITALY

  The Life in Italy website is all about Italy as it exists today, instead of the food and wine traditions of the past. There are individual sections about food, wine, and liquors, including articles about specific ingredients such as anchovies, saffron, and pasta shapes. The wine section includes lists of top producers of popular styles, including Barolo and Chianti.

• WINE ENTHUSIAST

  This is the website of Wine Enthusiast magazine. If you type the word “Italy” into the search box, you will find more than 100 articles about the various regions, grapes, and wineries in the country. Some articles give suggestions for Italian food and wine pairings, while others offer up-to-the-minute information about trends and newly released vintages. The “wine ratings” section of the site lets you search by label name and year to determine which Italian bottling the staff considers to be “best buy” and “editor's choice.”

• WINE SPECTATOR

  This is the in-depth website of Wine Spectator magazine. It includes articles about wines from all over the world, and Italy gets its fair share of representation. This site is a good place to look for up-to-the-minute news about what is happening in Italy's wineries, notes from recent tastings of newly available vintages, and reviews of virtually every wine that you can find for purchase. Many — but not all — of the sections are free, including the “ABCs of Wine” tutorial pages.

• WINE AT ABOUT.COM

  An extensive website covering the ins and outs of drinking and enjoying wine, including information on varieties, regions, food and wine pairings, wine travel, and more.