The Central Institute for Intangible Heritage

Created for Expo 2015, the Geoportal of Food Culture (GeCA) is a project of the Italian Ministry of Culture that originates from the desire to share in a single digital identity the documentary archives related to food culture widespread on the national territory, with the aim of contributing to the development of territories on a tourist-cultural basis.

The development of the project is entrusted to the Central Institute for Intangible Heritage of the Ministry of Culture (ICPI – MIC) which, sharing the values of the UNESCO Convention 2003 on Intangible Heritage as a World Heritage Site, has built over time a dynamic project able to involve in an unprecedented way public and private spheres.

Starting from 2021, GeCA has entered a new phase of its journey and during Terra Madre is inaugurated in its new form. Thanks to the pilot project “GCA – Basilicata – Castello di Lagopesole” promoted by ICPI, funded by the PON “Culture and Development”, and supported by the Basilicata Region with the collaboration of the University of Basilicata, over the past two years GeCA has been enriched, in addition to a new digital look curated by the design studio Dotdotdot, in new content coming from Basilicata.

The mission of the Geoportal during the Basilicata project has aimed to enhance and spread the Lucanian food and wine heritage to transmit it to an audience of not only experts. All this has been possible thanks to a particular, new synergy between ICPI and Slow Food. The Slow Food Network in Lucania, in fact, has been particularly concerned to research and map the food and wine products and the traces of popular culture related to them.

After this happy and fruitful experience, ICPI and Slow Food intend to tell the results of the collaboration and replicate this important project in other Italian territories, with the aim of contributing to the dissemination of knowledge of the gastronomic heritage of which Italy is an exceptional stage.