How to get to Parco Dora? What to do with the kids? Who to meet? The unmissable activities in Terra Madre program? Here’s a quick guide to visiting the largest international event dedicated to good, clean and fair food.
There’s just a few weeks to go before the beginning of Terra Madre Salone del Gusto, the largest international event dedicated to good, clean and fair food, which returns to a free entry, open-air format in Parco Dora, Turin, from September 22 to 26. There’s a rich calendar of activities dedicated to the theme of this year’s edition—regeneration—so how to organize your visit around all the workshops, conferences and tastings on offer?
Let’s start with the most important question of all: how to get to Parco Dora? Thanks to our collaboration with GTT, the Turin transport authority, Trenitalia and Frecciarossa, it’s easy to get to Turin and move around town on the bus, tram, subway. There are also various shared mobility services in Turin, including cars, bicycles and scooters. All the info you need on how to get here and opening hours are available on this website.
The heart of the event organized by Slow Food, the Piedmont Region and the City of Turin is the suggestive post-industrial architecture that runs besides the Dora river, the result of a long scheme to regenerate the area through the conversion of the old Fiat and Michelin factories into public space.
Event areas
Our tour beings with the Slow Food space, the movement present in 160 countries which brings together delegates from across the world at Terra Madre, presenting its projects to safeguard biodiversity, deliver taste education and advocate for more sustainable food policy. This is where you can join the movement, take part in workshops and tastings and buy Slow Food and Terra Madre accessories.
The day really kicks off with a trip to the Terra Madre Kitchen, which, as well as being the stage for the Slow Food Cooks’ Alliance, is the best place to taste foods from around the world. New for this edition, the Kitchen will be open throughout the day, with a range of proposals on offer.
Breakfast opportunities
A breakfast stop in the morning promises international sweets accompanied by the coffees of the Slow Food Coffee Coalition from five different countries: Honduras, Cuba, India, Mexico and Brazil. Next door we also have the Honey Bar, made possible through a collaboration with Ricola and Conapi. Here there are activities dedicated to beekeeping and honey, and honey speed dates: five minutes of tastings of different honeys to find your favorite, guided by experts.
The three pillars
Immerse yourself in the Biodiversity Trail, an exhibition space which explores different value chains and thematic networks in the Slow Food universe, like Slow Grains, Slow Beans and the newly-established network of chestnut growers. Nearby you’ll also find the Education Garden, where children can discover a real, cultivated field developed together with the Turin Botanical Garden. Here you can learn about the soil cycle, take part in virtual treasure hunts and workshops with Slow Food educators.
To learn more about Slow Food campaigns and how they’re built, as well to meet members of the Slow Food Youth Network and take part in their activities, head to the Activism Square. These campaigns include Save Bees and Farmers, which aims to protect the pollinators that are so fundamental for biodiversity and agriculture, the mobilization against land grabbing and GMOs, battles for social justice in Africa and food security in Latin America.
Taste Workshops
The unmissable Taste Workshops are your opportunity to taste natural cheeses and cured meats, Georgian wines, hazelnuts in all their forms, freshwater fish, wild herbs and mussels from Puglia, among other things. There are over 60 Taste Workshops this year, held in Parco Dora, Nuvola Lavazza, at the chocolate factory of Guido Gobino and at Eataly Lingotto.
To investigate the theme of regeneration we have a series of dedicated events, called RegenerActions: from the preparation of stuffed pasta to börek, from building an educational garden within a school to the direct cultivation of the soil. These are small actions, moments of exchange, tastings and dialogs to breathe regenerative force into our daily actions.
The Market of Terra Madre
The Market has always been the heart of Terra Madre Salone del Gusto, a meeting place for thousands of producers from across the world and hundreds of thousands of visitors, a unique occasion to discover the extraordinary gastronomic diversity of every continent: from bread to cured meat, dairy products and seafood, the Market welcomes over 700 exhibitors who pay particular attention to the use of natural, local products and animal welfare. Passing among the stalls you can meet the producers of Slow Food Presidia from Italy and beyond, from Ispica sesame to Jiloca saffron and Breton oysters.
Meetings and conferences
We have two spaces dedicated to dialog and exchange named for two of the great activists of our times: the Gino Strada Arena and the Berta Cáceres Arena. In the former we’ll meet researchers, professors, activists and food producers who discuss themes like the climate, GMOs, food education, biodiversity and agroecology. The second on the other hand, is dedicated to courageous leader of the Lenca People who paid with her life in the struggle to defend the environment and civil rights; a space for Slow Food network projects like Slow Fish, the Slow Food Coffee Coalition, Youth & Food and the Slow Food Youth Network.
At the Environment Park we have Conferences where we’ll meet guest speakers like Raj Patel, economist and food politics researcher, Elena Granata, Urban Planning Professor at the Polytechnic University of Milan, Larissa Mies Bombardi, a Brazilian teacher of geography in exile in Belgium, and food-systems specialist from the City University of London, Corinna Hawkes.
Food and Health
At the Food and Health space developed together with our main partner Reale Mutua, we explore all the links between the two. From food for babies to agricultural methods that promote biodiversity, as well as foods with a low environmental impact: there are numerous themes up for discussion.
Activities with UNISG alumni
The University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo presents a rich program of activities, too. Every morning we’ll have breakfast with artisanal products made by UNISG alumni, then debates around the challenges facing young gastronomes, guided aperitifs with ex-students with baked products, cured meats, cheeses, craft beer, vermouth and kombucha, as well as a number of moments where we’ll share the stories and experiences of young international producers.
Wine, street food and more
After an intense day around Parco Dora, we deserve a stop at the Enoteca which, from this year, becomes the stage for the Slow Wine Coalition. As well as relaxing with a glass of bubbles, we can meet producers and other people involved in international wine projects, and learn more about wine, vermouth and cocktails through tasting in dedicated Workshops.
For a delicious treat there are 13 different Food Trucks and 5 Street Kitchens which offer a vast range of snacks from bombette to baked potatoes, fried gnocchi and many more specialties from all over Italy.
Dinner Dates
Finally, to finish off the day, the Dinner Dates held at Eataly Lingotto showcase the work of Italian and international chefs: from Albania we welcome Altin Prenga who’ll cook side by side with Daniele Maurizi Citeroni of the Marche, the Tirolese Oskar Messner and the self-proclaimed “wild” chef Eleonora Matarrese who propose a menu based on foraging, and Michelin-starred chef Cristina Bowerman with her all-female team.
