Italian food heritage is not only made of recipes and typical products: it is a complex system of traditions, gestures, knowledge passed down through generations, and social practices that reflect the history and identity of local territories.

To enhance and make this richness accessible, the Geoportal of Food Culture was created, one of the main digital tools dedicated to narrating intangible food heritage in Italy, promoted by the Central Institute for Intangible Heritage of the Italian Ministry of Culture.

The project was launched in 2015 during Expo 2015, under the theme “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life,” with the aim of collecting, organizing and sharing Italy’s food-related cultural heritage through an accessible and participatory digital platform.

Through databases, in-depth content sheets, images, audio and video materials, the platform gathers documentation on gastronomic traditions, agricultural practices, local products and social rituals linked to food culture across different Italian regions.

The goal is to transform a fragmented and localized heritage into a shared and accessible narrative, capable of conveying the extraordinary cultural diversity of the country. In this way, the platform becomes a tool for knowledge and cultural enhancement, helping to preserve and transmit a heritage that is part of Italy’s collective identity.

In recent years, the Geoportal has undergone a major redesign of both its content and digital structure, with a renewed interface, more intuitive navigation accessible from any device, updated and reorganized content, and a new visual and communication identity.

The redesign project was curated by the Milan-based studio Dotdotdot, while BIA coordinated the content revision and reorganization.

The result is a more accessible digital platform, designed to facilitate content exploration and create a more engaging user experience.

One of the most distinctive elements of the Geoportal is the micro-narrative format: short video documents that tell the story of Italy’s food heritage through direct testimonies.

Produced since 2015, micro-narratives are short filmed stories, approximately three minutes long, that combine personal experiences, local traditions, typical products and culinary practices. In just a few minutes, these stories convey the human and cultural dimension of food heritage, placing at the center the people who preserve and pass on knowledge and traditions.

This narrative model, developed in collaboration with the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo, is an effective tool to communicate the complexity of Italian food culture in an accessible, engaging and contemporary way.

Through this format, the Geoportal positions itself not only as a digital archive but also as a space for cultural storytelling and participation. Its goal is to build a national network capable of collecting and sharing the excellence of Italian knowledge and flavors, region by region.

Through research, mapping and documentation of local heritage, the Geoportal contributes to a broader and more conscious understanding of Italian food culture, respecting the environment, communities and collective memory.

Today, the Geoportal of Food Culture stands as a key reference point for the dissemination of Italy’s intangible food heritage.

A project that combines scientific research, digital innovation and community participation to tell the story of the country’s cultural vitality through one of its most universal and identity-defining languages: food.