The Associazione Italiana Celiachia (AIC) have just announced that changes have been made to both their mobile app and website. If you’re a coeliac planning to use this to locate safe gluten free venues to eat during a trip to Italy then read on to find all the details.
Who are the AIC?
The Associazione Italiana Celiachia (or AIC for short) are the Italian Coeliac Society. They are the Italian national organisation supporting Coeliacs, much like Coeliac UK or Coeliac Australia in their respective countries.
What does the AIC app do?
The AIC app and website have a fully searchable list all of the AIC-certified venues all over Italy. It’s an extremely comprehensive list of Coeliac safe venues in Italy.
Since the app is on your phone – and most tourists visiting Italy are travelling with a smartphone, not laptop – the app provides a convenient way to access information on Coeliac safe venues all over Italy. Since this is provided by the national Coeliac association, this is a trusted and reliable source of information.
There are currently over 4,000 venues listed and this is constantly growing!
The list contains multitude of different locations a Coeliac may wish to eat from B&Bs/hotels to pizzeria and gelateria (yes, ice cream cones senza glutine!) and even includes autostrada service stations.
Not only does the app (and the AIC website it’s linked to) contain where to eat but it also lists who to speak to when you get there; they list the person responsible for gluten free food in that establishment, as well as some information on opening hours.
I find it so reliable that it’s my primary source of information for eating out in Italy meaning less advance research on places to eat. Accessing the data via the app means I can easily locate a place to eat safe pizza or gelato when I’m out and about simply by using the AIC app’s geographical search functionality.
Sounds fantastic! What are the changes to access that have been made?
In short: The cost.
Up until now all of this amazing information has been a free resource available to anyone, even if you are not an annual subscription paying member of the AIC.
How can I access this great information on Coeliac safe venues in Italy now?
Assuming that you are a tourist planning to visit Italy and not planning to join one of the regional AIC groups, the AIC says:
If you are a tourist visiting Italy from abroad, you can buy AIC Mobile Welcome from your app store (iOS or Android), a temporary version of our App available up to 15 days from its purchase. Both Apps are available in English too.
If you are a long time resident or planning an extended stay in Italy (I live in hope that will be me one day!) then you may find it more cost effective to join the AIC and pay the annual subscription this involves.
You can join the local AIC association for the region you’ll be based in by following this link.
How much does temporary access to the AIC app cost?
This is going to depend on where you are in the world. In the UK, the cost is £2.99 for 15 days’ access via the app store (iPhone).
How do I access the app?
For iPhone users, you can search in the app store for “AIC mobile”” and you’ll see the app.
I already had the AIC mobile app on my phone and these are the screens which are now shown when you open the app:
Scrolling down….
Finally, the purchase cost for the temporary access, “Welcome Access”:
If you are planning to access the AIC website via laptop/web browser then you will be prompted for a PIN code to enter the eating out and venue search information. There is still a cost of accessing the data in this way.
Is it really worth it?
I think for a small fee of £2.99 the quality of the information provided – over 4,000 Coeliac safe venues – then YES this is definitely worth it.
Our frequent travels to Italy often take us to towns and villages off the tourist trail and on many occasions this app has provided a location to eat that google searches and other gluten free apps have not.
Interested in more blog posts on travel to Italy? You can read my gluten free travel tips for Italy with lots of tips and resources for a wonderful trip to Italy. I recently posted my essential gluten free guide to Puglia and you can also find more blog posts on gluten free travel in Italy by clicking on the Gluten Free Italy category in the drop down on the right. Happy gluten free travels!
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