Qualivita Atlas presented in Rome. Liguria in evidence with 21 products including the PDO Riviera Ligure oi

Minister Bellanova underlines role of PDOs and PGIs as symbols of the success of “Made in Italy”

The Qualivita Atlas “I prodotti agroalimentari e vitivinicoli italiani Dop Igp Stg – Le bevande spiritose italiane Ig” has been recently presented in Rome in the presence of Teresa Bellanova, Minister of Agricultural Policies, and Paolo De Castro, S&D ComAgri Coordinator of the European Parliament. Keynote speakers included Cesare Mazzetti, President of the Qualivita Foundation, Riccardo Ricci Curbastro, President of Federdoc, Cesare Baldrighi, President of OriGin Italia, Massimo Bray, GM of the Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana and Mauro Rosati, MD of the Qualivita Foundation.

The Atlas is dedicated to national GI agrofood quality: Liguria boasts 21 PDOs, PGIs and GTSs products and GI spirits, all of them protected by the EGU: they include PDO Riviera Ligure EVO, the symbol of the region’s olive growing tradition and the perfect match of dry stone walls, whose art belongs to UNESCO intangible cultural heritage.

PDO Riviera Ligure EVO and PDO Genoese Basil co-star in pesto, Liguria’s flagship condiment. The regional section of the Atlas also features PGI Focaccia di Recco col Formaggio, whose origins date back to the age of Saracen raids, as well as DOP wines.

The 10^th edition of the Atlas, a one-off in the European scene of certified products, was published by Treccani, which for the first time focuses GIs and Italian typical products. It was created by the Qualivita Foundation with OriGin Italia and Federdoc in order to highlight the cultural and economic value of Italian quality supply chains. The Atlas presents 860 product fact sheets, divided into 3 sections – food (299), wine (526) and spirits (35) – rich in details about each Italian GI excellence: production method, history, regulations, nutritional and organoleptic data. A treasure trove of information and know hows designed to increase the awareness of consumers about the values of authenticity and origin.

The cultural importance of PDO and PGI products is also testified by the several links with UNESCO recognition lists such as intangible cultural heritage (from the Mediterranean Diet to the Art of Neapolitan Pizza) and world cultural and natural heritage sites (from the Val d’Orcia to the Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato).

Ismea and Qualivita mapped more than 600 cultural resources (architecture, art, literature): more than 200 events and 150 itineraries, all of them linked to PDO and PGI productions.

Both the President (Carlo Siffredi) and the Managing Director (Giorgio Lazzaretti) of the PDO Riviera Ligure EVO Protection Consortium attended the event.