| BIGA | Two-horse ancient Roman chariot; or, an Italian style pre-ferment or starter used for ciabatta, focaccia and panini (4) |
| STARTER | Mixture such as a culture used to transform milk into cheese; or, a pre-ferment or "biga" used in the process of making sourdough (7) |
| SABOT | From the French for "shoe" and related to the Italian for "ciabatta", word for a French or Breton peasant's wooden clog, from which a term for vandalism derives (5) |
| BREW | Ferment or foment |
| HORNBEAMS | Trees popular for pleaching whose timber was historically used to make ancient Roman chariots (9) |
| STARTERS | Dogs for rousing game; cultures or pre-ferments for making butter, cheese or sourdough; race initiators; or, competitors/horses in line-ups (8) |
| GELATO | In Italian it literally means "frozen." In English it means an Italian-style ice cream. First known usage is in 1929. |
| OLIVES | Black, green or purple fruits used for Mediterranean or Provencal recipes such as tapenade, pissaladiere, fougasse, ciabatta or puttanesca (6) |
| TANDEM | With punning use of the Latin for "at length", word for a carriage drawn by a long set-up of two horses, one behind the other; or, a bicycle for two riders in a similar lengthy formation (6) |
| ROSA | Artist who painted Philosophy; Switzerland's highest mountain; or, an Italian word for pink (4) |
| SAUCILY | With brass, or an Italian island altered in the style of this puzzle's theme |
| HIPPODROME | A stadium for chariot or horse races in ancient Greece (10) |
| CAR | Poetic word for a chariot; or, a horseless coach, aka an automobile (3) |
| NAPLES | City in Florida... or an Italian city famous for its pizza |
| OMELETTE | Similar to a Spanish tortilla or an Italian frittata, a dish of beaten eggs cooked in a frying pan (8) |
| AETNA | Insurance alternative to Humana (or an Italian volcano if you remove the first letter) |
| ANTIPASTI | Italian bite-sized hors d'oeuvres or starters such as arancini, olives, baked figs or marinated mozzarella balls (9) |
| MARINARA | An Italian-style sauce made from tomatoes, onions and herbs (8) |
| NON | Start for "profit" or "starter" |
| INTER | Bury, or an Italian soccer team? |
