Tuscany at Vinitaly: promoting cultural heritage and the Fiorentina

Tuscany at Vinitaly: promoting cultural heritage and the Fiorentina steak UNESCO bid

From April 12 to 15, Tuscany is taking part in Vinitaly with an institutional area called Casa Toscana. The initiative aims to showcase the connections between wine production, culinary traditions and local identity, bringing together major consortia and small producers, including examples of heroic viticulture.

This presence also serves as a platform for safeguarding cultural heritage: among the initiatives is an agreement to support the candidature of the Fiorentina steak for European STG recognition and for consideration as UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. The move highlights how food, landscape and local practices can play a role in preserving and promoting regional heritage.

• Enotourism and landscape: Casa Toscana highlights wine tourism routes that connect typical products and territories, with attention to areas such as Val d'Orcia, recognized by UNESCO for its cultural landscape.
• Heroic viticulture: wines from challenging locations, including some islands and inland hills, are presented as expressions of local technical and cultural heritage.
• Local flavors and identity: promoting the Fiorentina steak as an element of culinary culture underscores the interaction between cuisine, supply chains and tourism.

Programmes include masterclasses and tastings paired with traditional dishes, focusing on local denominations and niche territories: islands such as Capraia and Giglio, Elba, the Pisan hills, Chianti Classico, and historical areas like Pitigliano, Sovana and the churches tied to Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. The aim is to bring forward enogastronomic and landscape practices that form the cultural identity of Tuscany.

For professionals and visitors, the event is an opportunity to learn how safeguarding culinary traditions and agricultural techniques can be integrated into tourism promotion strategies and into formal paths for intangible heritage recognition at the international level.