A representative sample of the general population residing in the city of Florence was invited to participate in the local section of the EPIC study with two major aims: i) to carry out a population-based survey on dietary and life-style habits in this urban area of Tuscany, Central Italy; ii) to compare these results with a large series of EPIC volunteers residing in the same municipality in order to evaluate the differences between the two groups. A random sample of 500 residents (250 women) aged 40-64 years, was invited to participate in the study; 362/500 (72.4%) accepted and followed the EPIC protocol. The distribution of selected individual characteristics (including measured weight and height) showed a high prevalence of being overweight in men (52.2%) and obesity in both sexes (17.4% in men and 12.5% in women). A dietary pattern characterized by a high consumption of red meat, processed meats, olive oil and wine emerged in both sexes; the consumption of vegetables and fresh fruit was approximately 200 and 300 g/day, respectively. The estimated mean intakes of macronutrients reflected this pattern, with a high mean intake of total fat and protein. The mean contribution to total caloric intake provided by fat was 30.9% and 33.6% in these randomly sampled men and women, respectively. The results were compared with those of 9,123 Florence residents aged 40-64 years and enrolled as EPIC volunteers. Current smokers and less educated subjects were less represented among male volunteers, who, in general, showed a healthier dietary pattern (more fresh fruit and less spirits). Female volunteers were taller and heavier and consumed more fresh fruit but also more beef and less carbohydrates. Other statistically significant differences emerged, but the absolute values of these differences were usually modest and the two groups appeared remarkably similar. Overall, our results suggest that the large EPIC-Florence cohort was not strictly selected and showed a total caloric intake and a range of dietary variability similar to that of the general population of the same area.