Wine and Food: the De.Co Municipalities look at the future together

On 1st December, at Villa Cordellina Lombardi, the Meeting of the 55 De.Co. Municipalities of the Province of Vicenza took place. The purpose of the meeting was to lay the foundations for the establishment of a national “Federdeco”, a union of typical products, not only of the Vicenza area, but from all regions, and to outline the path towards the Expo 2015 in Milan.

What happened to the meeting?

The representatives for the Coordination Board were elected, who have the purpose of enhancing the municipalities’ denominations. The initiative was developed from a great idea of the late Gino Veronelli.

Moreover, the presentation of the group “Friends of the deco” took place, with a committee directed by Francesco Fochesato. The occasion allowed to evaluate the achievements and to outline the activities for the future.

"With this initiative – Vladimiro Riva, managing director of “Vicenza è”, says – we want to bring together in one group not only municipal representatives, but also friends, supporters and fans. At the Expo in Milan, next to the most advanced technologies, we will offer traditional products to make them known and, through them, encourage tourism”.

Why De.Co?

A decade ago, the Italian De.Co were just a few hundreds, today they are about 500, from the Maraneo di Costabissara biscuit to the Carnaroli Nano rice and the Vialone di Grumolo delle Abbadesse rice, from the Vicenza mustard of Montecchio to the Fiolaro broccoli of Creazzo, form the Honey of Valdichiampo to the “Gobeti” of Zermeghedo.

Nino Sutera, director of the Saperi&Sapori Rural University of Mensi stated that “the De.Co are not only a mere municipal resolution, they are so important to the cultural identity of the area that I wish I could turn into a De.Co even the castle of Baroness Carini, which has 800 million visits a year. These products are ideal instrument for the promotion of the territory”.

“The main aspect of De.Co – Giorgio Rossi, provincial president of Unpli Vicenza, says – is that they are products with municipal designation, not national nor European, and identify themselves as the final stage of the tourist–gastronomic certification process of a territory”.