1. Italy, land of saints, poets and culinary connoisseurs

SINCE THE 1990S, ATTENTION TO FOOD IN ITALY (AND AROUND THE WORLD) HAS BEEN STEADILY GROWING, INCREASINGLY POPULATING THE PAGES OF NEWSPAPERS FIRST, THEN TELEVISION, AND SOCIAL NETWORKS IN MODERN TIMES.

We therefore owe a lot to people as Ricci, Vergiani, Bonilli and Petrini (which we talk about in the Editorial) for having had the great intuition and above all the great ability to spread the vision of a "good, clean and fair" Italy to the world. Today Italy boasts 5540 traditional agri-food products registered and spread across all the Regions (data as of 21 March 2022) and this in itself is already a great success. Each Region then has its own PDO, PGI and IGT and of course, these "official" denominations include the Slow Food Presidia, the Coldiretti seals and the many area brands: regional, national parks, regional parks, LAGs, FLAGs and so on… We could say that “shipwreck is sweet for us in this sea”, paraphrasing Leopardi's Infinito but not all that glitters is gold.

BEHIND THE GREAT FORTUNE OF THE "BLAZON OF BRANDS" THERE IS IN FACT A DISTURBING COUNTERPART: THE ITALIAN SOUNDING.

In fact, it is estimated that there are around 600 products of "fake" Italian origin circulating in the world. The True Italian Taste website reports that preserves, sauces, oil and vinegar passed off as Italian are very common in Brazil, with a share of 14.5%, of the total, and in Poland (10.5%). In Australia, on the other hand, the most widespread Italian sounding belongs to dairy products (24.5%), meat (23%) and pasta (21.9%), the diffusion of which is also very significant in Brazil (27.1%) and in Poland (26.3%).

We have to change course, it can no longer be just a wish. And to do this the only way is that of knowledge. We are well aware that from the times of Dean Martin and his renowned "That's Amore" to the pronunciation of the name Italia, comic clouds appear in the minds of travellers and tourists in which pizza, wine, oil and other extraordinary amenities of our country appear. Films such as Letters to Juliet and Eat Pray Love have created the myth of "good and beautiful Italy" in more recent times.

WE MUST THEREFORE "TAKE ADVANTAGE" OF TOURISM SO THAT WHEN THEY RETURN HOME, PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE WHAT IS TRULY ITALIAN AND WHAT IS "FAKE".

IF WE LOOK AT THE REVIEWS LEFT BY BRITISH, GERMANS, AMERICANS AND AUSTRALIANS REGARDING VISITS TO ITALY, WE TALK ABOUT FOOD IN AT LEAST ONE OUT OF 5 CASES, EVALUATING THE FOOD AND WINE OFFER POSITIVELY (85.9 POINTS OUT OF 100) WITH THE HIGHEST SCORES FOR PIZZERIAS (87.2 POINTS OUT OF 100).

Among the most popular regions are Tuscany and Molise while the most popular cities are Naples, Rome, Florence, Milan and Venice. 51% of visitors (Italian or foreign) would like to "long-distance adopt" an olive grove, an orchard, an "Italian" vineyard and then receive the product at home when ready.

50% of tourists then willingly evaluate the possibility of participating in "digital" tastings (i.e. carried out remotely) after the on-site experience, so as to share what was done on holiday with relatives and friends and a similar percentage (48%) does not disdain to carry out these activities even before arriving at the company. Among those who then look for a spa in the countryside, 53% would see it better associated with a visit to an oil producer while 51% would better relax in the vineyards.

What made the demand for these places grow was probably the fact that wine and oil (two great attractions for tourism) increased their production even in the pandemic period: attention to eating well even at home has favoured the rediscovery of excellent local products with the consequent birth of the desire to get to know the praised beauty of their production places up close.

IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING THAT THE AMBASSADORS OF ITALIAN GASTRONOMIC EXCELLENCE ARE ABOVE ALL RESTAURANTS AND PIZZERIAS THAT BEAR THE ITALIAN FLAG AROUND THE WORLD.

Unfortunately, however, the twoyear period 2020/21 with intermittent lockdowns did not favour the sector, which was however able to adapt through home delivery, digital tastings, temporary restaurants in hotels, so much so that the number of reports has even increased in the sector guides. What can we “storytellers of good stories” do? Tell you restaurateurs the geography of typical products, i.e. the agri-food excellences present in our national territory.

WHAT CAN YOU READERS DO? YOUR JOB, BUT DONE RIGHT. SELECTING INGREDIENTS, BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS OF TRUST WITH SUPPLIERS AND CUSTOMERS, TRAINING STAFF AND KEEPING THEM CLOSE.

Only in this way can we all have “a kingdom where the sun never sets”, as Charles V was able to say about his empire. No, we are not talking (only) of economic wealth but of that priceless serenity which today is what we seek to live this new year to the best.