Food heritage for local heritage: italian experiences

Traditional local food products, based on a specific conception of food heritage, play an impor-tant role in the development of area in Italy. They are part of a collective heritage of people li-ving in a particular region, and result from the management of natural resources, landscapes and collective processes of transformation and commercialization. Authenticity is a central aspect of local distinctiveness. Italian foods are often authentic and ‘special’. Protecting the Italian traditional food heritage, promoting food quality and safety, and safeguarding and enhancing typical and traditional products are very important in ensuring con-sumer and environmental safety as well as economic, biological, environmental, and social identity. This paper analyzes the principal aspects of specialty foods, and focuses on the innovative view of food as cultural heritage, an economic and tourist attraction and a basic sector for a low envi-ronmental impact economy. It discusses Italian ‘Food Valleys’ in the light of a local and rural ‘renaissance’ based on foods and the food industry.