A Journey through Taste – Flavours of Italy, the special new area at Bit dedicated to tourism of good eating habits, is a unique way to discover the heritage of Italian food and wine, exploring areas of origin and success. Set up thanks to patronage by Mipaaf.Milan, 18 February 2010 – A country of excellences. Italy in other words, from a viewpoint of quality food and wine, the result of a secular tradition of symbiosis between the rural cultures of the different Regions and their territories.
Want to try a menu for the perfect journey, with out-of-the-ordinary flavours? Start in Abruzzo, where you can savour delicacies along the old transhumance routes like local pecorino cheese or saffron, accompanied by Trebbiano wine. Move on to Campania, which offers a wide variety of world famous specialities and itineraries, like fusillo di Felitto (hollow spaghetti) and Aglianico del Taburno grappa. Heading north, Lazio stretches from the Ciociaria to the Viterbo Maremma and gives a chance to try buffalo burrata fresh cheese or artichokes from Tarquinia, while you sip an Aleatico di Gradoli. The Tuscan hills will welcome you with cinta senese pork, goat’s cheese from Upper Mugello and a drop of Candia from the Apuan Hills. Continuing northwards, between a trip to the coast and a day in the mountains in Liguria, taste canestrelletti biscuits from Acquasanta, savoury farinate and Rossese di Dolceacqua, while in Piedmont goat’s cheese from Val Vigezzo and venison bresaola are perfect with a Barbaresco. Finish in the province of Piacenza with gnocco fritto (fried dough), coppa piacentina (cured meat) and raise a glass of Monterosso Val d’Arda.
A TRADITION THAT IS BECOMING A TREND – It is no coincidence that Italy boasts the widest range of certified products in the world with no fewer than 176 denominations of origin recognised at an EU level, 4,396 traditional specialities listed by Italian Regions and 477 wines with denomination of origin. This wealth of resources has led to the development of almost 18,000 agritourism companies in Italy (ISTAT 2009 figures) and seen a true boom in rural tourism: the number of Italian holidaymakers choosing “green options” rose by 2% in 2006 to 14% in 2009 (Swg-Confesercenti forecasts). A trend that Bit has constantly enhanced over the years with specific initiatives.
THE BIRTH OF A JOURNEY THROUGH TASTE – Thanks to a formula that is unique in this sector, Bit has always been the perfect stage for optimum expression of the incredible and fascinating variety of landscapes, history, art, culture and food and wine traditions that characterise the different Regions in Italy. This year, in this synergic context the special area at Bit dedicated to tourism of good eating habits becomes A Journey through Taste – The Flavours of Italy with a totally new look: a new itinerary through the different kinds of tourism linked to the countryside, thought up to enhance its qualifying elements by focusing the Traveller’s attention on use of a territory, its culture and landscape-environmental attractions through local (re)discovery of its special agricultural-food resources and quality typical products with controlled origin.
THE PROTAGONISTS OF TASTE – Set up with patronage by the Ministry for Agricultural, Environmental and Forestry Policies, A Journey through Taste will run for all four days of Bit, until Sunday 21 February, with a busy cultural programme. An area of around 1,000 m² in hall 1 in the Italy section, A Journey through Taste houses the maximum institutional businesses in the sector, in addition to a complete overview of the best Operators in rural, agro-food and wine and food tourism, from all over Italy and an events area for encounters and tasting sessions.
The 30th edition of Bit – International Tourism Exchange will be held at the fieramilano exhibition centre in Rho from Thursday 18 to Sunday 21 February 2010. For information updates: www.bit.fieramilano.it.
