Italian gastronomy is one of the most familiar and well-recognized around the world, and Italy is a major food exporter due to its hallmark of quality and optimal climate for growing a wide variety of produce. Nowhere like in Italy (except perhaps France) is the acuteness of climate change, and thus sustainability, becoming apparent in the production of food.
Turin (Torino) is Italy’s forth largest city and its home region of Piemonte boasts a versatile agricultural landscape. The tour will provide insights into how the city of Turin is using (sustainable) food consumption and production to transform the industrial urban fabric and thus help create a new economy and citizenship. The surrounding Region of Piemonte is home to many well known Italian food producers like Barolo (wine), Nutella, and a variety of cheese producers.
Tour Objectives
- Explore and learn more about Italy through exposure to its culture, history, and socioeconomic climate and above all through its connection to food and agriculture
- Analyze the social, cultural, and political embeddedness of traditions around food and their relation to sustainable food practices
- Compare and contrast sustainability approaches in Northern and Southern Europe
Possible Activities
- Go on a truffle hunt, visit a salami factory and a a chocolate maker
- Explore Mercato Centrale Torino, Europe's largest open-air market
- Experience the Piemonte region, the birth-place of the slow food movement, and venture to the nearby city of Bra, the hometown of the Gastronomic Sciences University