Andrea Cerrato Mauro Carbone
Behind the scenes of a UNESCO territory: moving beyond food towards a live cultural experience
Mauro Carbone, an expert Destination Manager who has spearheaded the tourism growth of Southern Piedmont for over two decades, analyzes the metamorphosis of a region that has achieved global excellence. His perspective goes beyond merely celebrating the success of the UNESCO vineyard landscapes; it delves into the backstage of tourism strategy.
Carbone reflects on the crucial theme of accessibility within the gastronomic tourism experience, arguing that the true challenge lies not just in serving a high-quality dish, but in ensuring the traveler understands the culture and emotion behind it, citing the bagna cauda phenomenon as a prime example.
Food and wine remain central themes in Piedmont, where a simple agnolotto can serve as a cultural marker more precise than a GPS, defining the identities between different villages.
Carbone’s profound analysis invites us to view local uniqueness as a force capable of enhancing the territory, as it is representative of a lifedata-style that can compete globally with the world's most renowned tourist destinations.
Video table of contents
- Introduction
- Tourism in Southern Piedmont: a cultural product centered around taste
- A destination of experiences and narratives
- Understanding fosters accessibility
- Amidst tradition and compromise
- The UNESCO recognition of the viticultural landscape
- A territory told through its filled pasta
- A disorienting beauty
- One land, many visions, just as many perspectives
- An authentic Made in Italy
- The challenge of the tourism system
- The line between bagna cauda and truffles
- The Piedmontese hallmark
Interview information
Country: IT
Region: Piemonte
City: Asti
Mauro Carbone
Date of birth: 09-26-1956
City: Canelli
School: University
Profession: Manager
Languages: Italiano
Document by: Laura Bugliazzini
Video by: Laura Bugliazzini, Andrea Icardi
Created: 04-12-2025
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.
