Luca Piazza Giuseppe Girino
La Meridiana: growing tradition and solidarity through a fair and good economy
Giuseppe Girino traces the evolution of his farm in Frassineto Po, a historic estate with roots dating back to the mid-19th century which, since 2017, has found new life through the Meridiana Social Agricultural Cooperative. Girino illustrates a business model capable of blending the horticultural excellence of Monferrato — featuring flagship products such as the Chestnut Squash and Baby Zucchini — with a profound ethical mission.
The cooperative transforms agriculture into a tool for social redemption, offering job opportunities to disadvantaged individuals, inmates, and asylum seekers, ensuring they receive not only employment but also dignified housing. This social rigor is paired with cutting-edge agronomic innovation: the adoption of satellite technology, drip irrigation systems for water conservation, and the use of bioplastics demonstrate a concrete commitment to environmental sustainability and the fight against climate change.
Through educational garden projects in schools and partnerships with large-scale retail, Girino’s story celebrates a form of farming that does not just produce good organic food, but nurtures a fair and inclusive community, keeping the unbreakable bond between the land and the traditional Piedmontese table alive.
Video table of contents
Interview information
Country: IT
Region: Piemonte
City: Frassineto Po
Locality: Via Colombero
Giuseppe Girino
Date of birth: 05-27-1968
City: Casale Monferrato
Profession: Entrepreneur
Languages: Italiano
Document by: Laura Bugliazzini
Video by: Luca Ghiardo, Laura Bugliazzini
Created: 25-02-2026
Questo video fa parte del seguente archivio
Nourishing Piedmontese Identity: Bagna Cauda’s tales
Nourishing Piedmontese Identity: Bagna Cauda’s tales
Bagna cauda is a complex and multifaceted gastronomic system partly constituted by its ingredients and, above all, by a repertoire of cultural aspects capable of conveying symbols, traditions, and knowledge of the communities of Southern Piedmont, from which it is considered an identity food.
A dish in which every variant of the recipe is evidence of a different tradition: hundreds of possible preparations that differ from each other, connected by distinctive traits such as conviviality, sharing, irony, and the celebration of a non-solemn festive event. A unique convergence that represents the common thread of this repository that contains interviews with farmers, cooks, and those who experience the practice of bagna cauda as a moment of communion with food and collectivity.
A meaning that, in the last twelve years, the Astigiani Cultural Association has been able to grasp, proposing to the Piedmontese communities all over the world the participation to the Bagna Cauda Day. A very successful initiative that involved over 30.000 diners in the 2024 edition.
