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Food museums as cultural institutions and tourist attractions: Evidence from
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Article in Journal of Gastronomy and Tourism · January 2020
DOI: 10.3727/216929720X15968961037935
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FOOD MUSEUMS AS CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS AND
TOURIST ATTRACTIONS: EVIDENCE FROM ITALY
Roberta Garibaldi, Andrea Pozzi (University of Bergamo)
In recent years, food museums have turned into popular attractions for tourists. Scholars and
practitioners have emphasized their role as agents of preservation, education and cultural heritage
interpretation, but devoted little attention to tourism related issues. To fill the gap, this paper
investigates Italian food museums in order to assess their characteristics, tasks, audience and modes
of engagement. Findings suggest that community engagement is an important task along with
safeguarding and promoting food heritage. Creating or improving external relationships is crucial
for public museums to get recognized for their role and value. For museums operated by private
companies, engaging with local stakeholders and residents serves not just a branding purpose, but
also in awakening their interest in past and present issues concerning the product (nutrition, safety,
taste, cultural and social values). The majority of Italian food museums mainly appeal to domestic
travelers, which indicates the potential to reach a larger, international audience. Visibility and
language issues remain crucial to reach international tourists but reframing the museum experience
is also essential to meet new visitors’ needs. Exploiting traditional exhibitions of food-related objects
with multimedia technology and practical activities such as classes, workshops, cooking shows can
help in engaging the audiences.
INTRODUCTION
Museums have frequently engaged with food heritage and culinary traditions. From ancient to
contemporary times, food played a major role in the evolution of civilisation and displaying foodrelated objects and artefacts is common in natural and history museums. Today, a number of cultural
attractions have exhibits focused on food, and they narrate the story of the produce and production
processes also through animation and visitor involvement. Because food often offers very appealing
experiences and entertainment for tourists (Garibaldi, 2019b; Stone et al., 2020), food museums have
become increasingly popular among those visiting destinations known for their food heritage and
products. In Europe, ‘Heineken Experience’ is a popular company museum and beer tourist attraction
in Amsterdam and one of the most visited attractions of the city, welcoming more than 1 million
visitors per year (respons.nl, 2018). ‘Southern Food and Beverage Museum’ in New Orleans (US),
the ‘Pacific Food & Beverage Museum’ in Los Angeles (US) and the ‘Canada Agriculture and Food
Museum’ in Ottawa (Canada) are well established and much-loved food museums (Levent &
Mihalache, 2017).
Despite their relevance, systematic inquiry into the field of food museums is limited. Professional
literature does emphasize their central role in food and heritage interpretation, while recognizing food
museums as attractions for traditional and non-traditional visitors (Everett, 2016; Garibaldi, 2019a;
Hjalager, 2002; Mitchell and Mitchell, 2001; Moon, 2016; Williams, 2013). Tourism-related issues
have been particularly poorly treated. This study contributes to the debate and purposely investigates
public and private Italian food museums in terms of characteristics, tasks, audience and modes of
visitors’ engagement. A presentation of a selection of case studies of corporate and nationally
renowned food museums is also added, in order to practically show how food museums can engage
1
visitors with local/regional food heritage while simultaneously meeting their institutional or corporate
tasks. Italy has a highly developed foodscape, and food tourism is gaining an increasing importance
(Garibaldi, 2018; 2019b; 2020). Museums of various origin have started to launch their exhibits
around food since the 1990s, and there is a growing evidence that these entities – which are
widespread throughout all the country – are important attractions for tourists (BAICR Sistema
Cultura; 2007; Il Cercatore di Perle, 2014; Montanari, 2018).
LITERATURE REVIEW
In the modern society the disintegration of established structures of meaning led people to search for
new sources of identity that provide some security (Bauman, 1997; Giddens, 1990). Food has become
an important factor in this search because it represents one of individuals’ basic needs (Richards,
2002). Along with the value for human nutrition, it reflects social identity of groups and memberships.
It is also the repository of traditions and collective identity and a vehicle of self-representation and
cultural exchange (Harvey, 2009; Montanari, 2006; Murcott, 1982; Scarpato, 2002). Given the strong
relationship between food and identity, it is not surprising that globalization is perceived as a
destabilizing factor. Leading to more homogenised eating habits, food risks to be separated from its
roots. However, globalization can lead to positive outcomes: it can contribute to raise awareness on
food issues among communities and to stimulate the reinvention of local gastronomic traditions and
recipes (Fernandes & Richards, 2017; Richards, 2002). Museums and heritage sites, for instance,
have started to preserve lost or disappearing food traditions and recipes, using them as starting point
for interpreting stories and traditions of the past (Hjalager, 2002; Moon, 2016).
It must be noted that displaying the food of the people through times and places has always been
common in natural and history museums. The exhibits in these museums generally reflect the
development of agricultural practices, the tools used, the activities behind, the influence of climate
on food and food habits, etc., but often their meanings become secondary to the study of people,
governments, economies and environments. Food museums have been established more recently, and
they are recognized as cultural sites that document and exhibit food and foodways in all their different
aspects (Williams, 2013). As opposed to natural and history museums, their emphasis is placed on
the product and its interpretation. They tell the story of food, its preparation, celebrations, social and
cultural meanings, and this may be limited or not to specific territories or specialities. They can be
repositories of tools and machineries used in food production and agriculture, cooking and eating
utensils and furniture. They may exhibit plant species, raw ingredients and finished products,
cookbooks, historical documents and images on rural life (Moon, 2016; Williams, 2013).
Museums can be centred on food culture in its widest sense. For instance, ‘Alimentarium’
(Switzerland) exhibits the history of food and human nutrition all over the world, and ‘Le Cité du
Vin’ (France) displays the culture of wine and tells the history of this product through times and in
different wine regions. Alternatively, exhibits can be dedicated to local products and culinary
heritage, such as ‘Museu do Pão’ that is dedicated to Portuguese bread. ‘Salzmuseum’ recalls the
history of the salt production in the Lüneburg Saltworks, Germany.
Besides displaying objects and artefacts, food museums also invite their audience to take part in
growing, making, learning about food culture through live presentations, workshops, events, talks
and discussions (Moson, 2016; Williams, 2013). The ‘Southern Food and Beverage Museum’ in New
Orleans (United States) organizes practical demonstrations where chefs show the cooking methods
and inform about ingredients and recipes. ‘Guinness Storehouse’ (Ireland) offers learning activities
on how to pour the beer. ‘Scotch Whiskey Experience’ museum in Scotland engages visitors in
special guided tasting tours.
Roles and functions of food museums
In recent years, museums have been facing a twofold challenge. On the one hand, they strive to meet
their institutional tasks of collecting, preserving and promoting cultural heritage (Loach, Rowley, &
2
Griffiths, 2017). On the other hand, they must attract and engage a larger audience as to ensure their
economic sustainability (Kotler & Kotler, 2000). This situation has certainly obliged museums to
adapt their mission, vision and organizational processes, while also stimulating the development of
new concepts, functions and activities (Antón, Camarero, & Garrido, 2017; Kim, Soo, & Park, 2016).
Conceiving museums as places “... for the preservation of those objects which best illustrate the
phenomena of nature and the works of man, and the utilization of these for the increase of knowledge
and for the culture and enlightenment of the people” (Goode, 1985: 198) is therefore limitative. Their
functions actually comprise knowledge creation, education, social inclusion, visitors’ amusement,
company branding, revenue generation (Alexander, Alexander, & Decker, 2017).
From this perspective, food museums can be viewed not only as repositories of food traditions and
recipes, but also as places for entertainment and education. A brilliant example is ‘La Cité du Vin’ in
Bordeaux (France). Since its opening, this cultural facility has become a lively cultural and social
venue for the residents in the region, and it is also an essential feature in the city tourist circuit. Its
function to promote wine heritage passes through the permanent exhibition and a varied cultural
program, including cultural mediation activities, live performances, exhibitions and debates, which
are organized in synergy with national and international partners (La Cité du Vin, 2019; Garibaldi,
2019a).
When established by private companies, food museums can be used also as devices for building
the brand, which is frequently linked to a certain city or region. This focus on promotion of the brand,
mixing corporate and industry memory, is clear in the ‘Guinness Storehouse’. The museum states
that visitors can embark on a journey through 250 years, “telling the history that goes into making
every pint of our world-famous beer” (Guinness Storehouse, 2020). In this message there is a clear
link between the intended brand image and statements. There is also a growing evidence that, with
the raise of food tourism, these museums have turned into popular attractions. ‘La Cité du Vin’ and
the ‘Guinness Storehouse’ are today landmarks for travelers: the former welcomed 421,000 visitors
in 2018 (La Cité du Vin, 2019) while the latter over 1.7 million guests in 2019 (Guinness Storehouse,
2019). ‘Guinness Storehouse’ is also Ireland’s leading international visitor attraction, testifying its
attractiveness for a wider audience.
Food museums have been poorly treated within the existing food and tourism literature. Scholarly
researchers and practitioners have paid attention on categories of food tourists, spatially distributed
attractions such as routes, festivals and events, cooking classes and the marketing and promotion of
food tourism, but a little is known about fixed sites such as food museums (Everett, 2016). Studies
on this topic tend to focus on the central role of food in heritage interpretation, and they have found
that displaying foodstuffs can represent an opportunity to attract new audiences and infuse new
meanings, but it also arises challenges mainly due to their “object-poor” nature (Everett, 2016;
Garibaldi, 2019a; Hjalager, 2002; Mitchell and Mitchell, 2001; Moon, 2016; Williams, 2013).
Although food museums have been generally recognized as attractive for traditional and nontraditional visitors, previous studies have devoted a little attention on tourism related issues.
This study attempts to advance the current knowledge on food museums and purposely
investigates public and private Italian entities in terms of characteristics, tasks, audience and modes
of engagement. Italy has a highly developed foodscape, which has always played a relevant role for
economic, social and cultural development. Food products, traditions and recipes moved into
museums and heritage sites since 1990s, but their attractiveness toward travellers has increased only
in recent years (Garibaldi, 2019b; 2020).
METHODOLOGY
This study defines food museums as public or private cultural institutions that are topically oriented
toward food culture in its wide sense or on specialities (Williams, 2013). Other areas of specialization
(e.g. history, nature, ethnography, anthropology) were not analysed since food is secondary in these
museums.
3
The research methodology followed a three-step process that combined a quantitative and qualitative
approach. First, as an official list of food museums did not exist, a dataset enlisting all food museums
operating in April 2016 was created from previous national-level research (BAICR Sistema Cultura,
2007; Il Cercatore di Perle, 2014). Ninety-nine (99) food museums were identified. Information about
name, location, ownership and speciality were also collected with the purpose of depicting the
national situation.
Second, a direct survey using Google Forms was conducted on the entire population of Italian food
museums. Questions aimed at collecting further information on both the institution/company and the
museum itself. Museum managers or owners were invited to provide details about the managing
institution or company, museums’ tasks, their perceived satisfaction with the results obtained and the
audience. It is conceivable that food museums also work with preservation, social inclusion,
economic sustainability, land and brand identity diffusion among their main tasks, similarly to
museums with different areas of specialization (Black, 2012; Loach, Rowley, & Griffiths, 2017).
Forty-one (41) responses out of 99 were collected (41%) in the period April-May 2016.
Descriptive statistics were used to coin the basic features of the data collected in these steps.
Frequency and percentages for each indicator/question were calculated, as to provide basic
information on the phenomenon.
Third, a further analysis was performed on three selected museums nationally renowned as tourist
attractions. Two of them (Perugina House of Chocolate and Galleria Campari) were in the list while
one (Lavazza Museum) was not included as it opened in 2018. Information was collected from
secondary sources and during onsite visits. The purpose was to show how food museums can engage
visitors with local/regional food heritage while meeting their institutional or corporate tasks (e.g.
preservation, branding).
RESULTS
Food museums in Italy: an overview
In Italy, food and wine production is spread throughout all regions and plays a significant role
economically, territorially, historically, socially and culturally. The huge diversity of rural
landscapes, from Northern to Southern areas, is reflected in the multiplicity of products, which differ
in characteristics as well as in their historic and cultural aspects. The diversity is proved by the
existence of 825 geographical indications in the national territory: 575 Protected Designation of
Origin (PDO), 248 Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) and 2 Traditional Speciality Guaranteed
(TSG) (Garibaldi, 2020).
Increasingly over the past 30 years, the symbolic value of food is recognized as a ‘common good’,
deserving of being preserved and exhibited in museums (Montanari, 2018). Earlier concepts date
back to the 90s and, since then, food museums have been established throughout all Italy, covering a
wide range of productions and with different approaches (BAICR Sistema Cultura, 2007). Despite
that, and although the increasing attractiveness among travellers, little is examined about the
museums’ geographical distribution, ownership and speciality of the exhibitions. The lack of insight
has certainly limited the appraisal of food museums as well as their recognition within the wider field
of cultural heritage.
The study found 99 food museums operating in April 2016 (Table 1). With regards to their ownership,
public (48%) and private (52%) were equally represented. Public entities are typically not-for-profit
institutions, although some income derives from their operations in addition to relying heavily on
public funds. Within this study, insights into detailed type of public ownership (e.g. state or region)
have not been collected. However, it is conceivable that municipalities and, to a lesser extent, regional
and national bodies, are managing institutions (BAICR Sistema Cultura, 2007). Across privately
owned museums, food processing companies (12%), wineries (11%), farms (9%) and beverage
processing firms (9%) were the most common entities operating food museums, while associations
(3%), consortia (2%) and other companies (5%) were less represented. Frequently, private museums
4
had their exhibits displayed within company buildings, just as to reinforce the relationship between
the product and the brand.
Food museums were widespread throughout the entire country, thus illustrating the richness of Italian
food production. A large quantity of food museums was established in Northern Italy (58, equal to
59%), in particular Emilia-Romagna (14%), Piedmont (13%) and Lombardy (8%). Central Italy
(Tuscany, Marches, Lazio, and Umbria) counted 20 food museums (20%) while Southern Italy
(Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Basilicata, Apulia, Calabria) and main Italian islands (Sardinia and
Sicily) had 21 units (21%). With regards to specialities, wine was the most frequently represented
(30%), an effect of higher production volumes and an established tradition of high quality. A wide
variety of food and beverage products were the main theme of the museums’ exhibits: olive oil (10%);
spirits, cheese and honey (4%); fruit, milk, bread and truffles (3%); beer, other alcoholic drinks,
coffee, chocolate, sugared almond and salt (2%); vinegar, eel, herbs, mushrooms, ice-cream,
liquorice, mint, chili pepper, pizza, cured meats, tea and sugar (1%). Museums dedicated to general
food culture represented 7%.
Table 1. Food museums in Italy. Name, region, ownership and speciality
Museum name
Region
Ownership
Speciality
Museo dell’arte olearia (Loreto Aprutino)
Abruzzo
Public museum
Olive oil
Museo Pelino (Sulmona)
Abruzzo
Food processing company
Sugared almond
Cooperativa il Riccio
Aosta Valley
Farm
Chestnut
Ecomuseo della castagna (Albard)
Aosta Valley
Public museum
Chestnut
Ecomuseo della latteria (Donnas)
Aosta Valley
Public museum
Milk
Museo della fontina (Valpelline)
Aosta Valley
Other
Cheese
Museo della vite e del vino (Donnas)
Aosta Valley
Other
Wine
Museo del miele (Chatillon)
Aosta Valley
Public museum
Honey
d'Araprì Spumante Classico
Apulia
Winery
Wine
Leone de Castris
Apulia
Winery
Wine
MUCCI MARIO
Apulia
Food processing company
Sugared almond
Museo Vino Primitivo (Manduria)
Apulia
Public museum
Wine
Cantina Albea
Apulia
Winery
Wine
Amarelli Fabbrica di Liquirizia
Calabria
Public museum
Liquorice
Accademia italiana del Peperoncino
Calabria
Private association
Chili pepper
Museo del cedro (Cosenza)
Calabria
Public museum
Fruits
Museo vivente della vita mediterranea
Campania
Public museum
Food culture
Azienda agricola Palmiri Antonio
Campania
Farm
Food culture
Museo della pizza (Napoli)
Campania
Public museum
Pizza
MUSA museo del sale di Cervia
Associazione museo dell'Aceto Balsamico
Tradizionale di Modena
Museo del Pane
Emilia Romagna
Public museum
Sale
Emilia Romagna
Private association
Vinegar
Emilia Romagna
Public museum
Bread
Museo del Castagno
Emilia Romagna
Public museum
Chestnut
Azienda agricola La Tosa
Emilia Romagna
Wine
Medici Ermete & Figli Srl
Emilia Romagna
Musei del Cibo della provincia di Parma
Emilia Romagna
Winery
Wine, beer or spirits
processing company
Private association
Casa Artusi
Emilia Romagna
Other
Food culture
5
Wine
Food culture
Museo dell’olio (Brisighella)
Museo formaggio Fossa (Sogliano
Rubicone)
Museo dell’anguilla (Comacchio)
Emilia Romagna
Public museum
Olive oil
Emilia Romagna
Food processing company
Cheese
Emilia Romagna
Public museum
Eel
Museo del Gelato (Anzola Emilia)
Emilia Romagna
Public museum
Ice-cream
Coppini arte olearia
Emilia Romagna
Farm
Olive oil
Museo Villani (Castelnuovo Ragone)
Emilia Romagna
Food processing company
Cured meats
Museo della civiltà del vino
Friuli Venezia Giulia
Public museum
Wine
Museo del vino Pittaro (Zompicchia)
Friuli Venezia Giulia
Winery
Wine
Museo dell'olio della Sabina
Museo diffuso del vino (Monteporzio
Catone)
Lazio
Public museum
Salt
Lazio
Public museum
Wine
Museo Peroni (Roma)
Lazio
Museo del cioccolato (Norma)
Lazio
Wine, beer or spirits
processing company
Food processing company
Museo dell’olio (Arnasco)
Liguria
Public museum
Olive oil
Museo Sommariva (Albenga)
Liguria
Farm
Olive oil
Museo Ca’Lunae (Castelnuovo Magra)
Liguria
Food processing company
Wine
Museo Fratelli Carli (Imperia)
Liguria
Food processing company
Olive oil
Ricci Curbastro Azienda Agricola
Lombardy
Winery
Wine
VM servizi srl
Museo del Latte e della Storia della
Muggiasca
Fondazione Morando
Lombardy
Other
Wine
Lombardy
Public museum
Milk
Lombardy
Public museum
Bread
Museo del tartufo (Mantova)
Lombardy
Truffle
Galleria Campari (Milano)
Lombardy
Branca
Lombardy
Consorzio Grana Padano
Lombardy
Public museum
Wine, beer or spirits
processing company
Wine, beer or spirits
processing company
Consortium
Museodellabirra
Marche
Other
Beer
Museo dell’arte del vino (Staffolo)
Marche
Public museum
Wine
Museo Etichette del vino (Cupramontana)
Marche
Public museum
Wine
Museo del caffè (Montecerignone)
Marche
Public museum
Coffee
Caseificio di Nucci 1662
Molise
Farm
Cheese
Figli di Pinin Pero S.p.A.
Piedmont
Food processing company
Sugar
Museo della Frutta Francesco Garnier
Piedmont
Fruits
Antica Distelleria Altavilla
Piedmont
Museo del Gusto
Piedmont
Public museum
Wine, beer or spirits
processing company
Public museum
Azienda Agricola Essenzialmenta
Ecomuseo della viticoltura. Comune di
Candelo gestisce l'ecomuseo
Museo civico del fungo (Giaveno)
Piedmont
Winery
Mint
Piedmont
Public museum
Wine
Piedmont
Public museum
Mushroom
Ecomuseo della vite (Cortemilia)
Piedmont
Public museum
Wine
Casa dell’Asti (Asti)
Piedmont
Consortium
Wine
Museo Gancia (Canelli)
Piedmont
Winery
Wine
Museo Ratti dei vini (La Morra)
Piedmont
Winery
Wine
Museo del vino Toso (Cossano Belbo)
Piedmont
Wine
Berta Distillerie
Piedmont
Winery
Wine, beer or spirits
processing company
6
Beer
Chocolate
Spirits
Spirits
Cheese
Spirits
Food culture
Spirits
Museo del Vino - Enoteca regionale della
Sardegna
Museo Civiltà Contadina (Bitti)
Sardinia
Public museum
Wine
Sardinia
Public museum
Food culture
Museo Agroalimentare (Siddi)
Sardinia
Public museum
Food culture
azienda agricola la casa del te'
Sicily
Farm
Tea
Museo dell’olio (Chiaramonte Gulfi)
Sicily
Public museum
Olive oil
Museo del sale (Nubia Paceco)
Sicily
Public museum
Salt
Museo del pane rituale (Salemi)
Sicily
Public museum
Bread
Aboca S.P.A Società Agricola
Tuscany
Farm
Herbs
Museo della Vite e del Vino
Tuscany
Public museum
Wine
Museo della vite e del vino
Tuscany
Public museum
Wine
Museo del Castagno
Tuscany
Public museum
Chestnut
Museo Vernaccia (San Gimignano)
Tuscany
Public museum
Wine
Museo del vino (Roccastrada)
Tuscany
Public museum
Wine
Museo della vite e del vino (Scansano)
Tuscany
Public museum
Wine
Museo tartufo (San Giovanni d’Asso)
Tuscany
Public museum
Truffle
Museo Frutticultura (Lana)
Trentino South Tyrol
Public museum
Fruits
Museo del Vino (Caldaro)
Trentino South Tyrol
Public museum
Wine
Museo del Miele (Lavarone)
Trentino South Tyrol
Farm
Honey
Museo dell’apicoltura (Soprabolzano)
Trentino South Tyrol
Public museum
Honey
Lungarotti Società Agricola arl
Umbria
Winery
Wine
Museo del tartufo (Scheggino)
Umbria
Food processing company
Truffle
Museo dell’olio Bartolomei (Montecchio)
Umbria
Farm
Olive oil
Museo Perugina (Perugia)
Umbria
Food processing company
Chocolate
Museo della Latteria
Veneto
Milk
Zonin1821
Veneto
Dersut Caffè S.P.A.
Veneto
Antiche Distillerie Mantovani
Veneto
Museo del Miele (Ca’ Cappellino)
Veneto
Museo Grappa Poli (Bassano del Grappa)
Veneto
Museo Olio d’Oliva (Bardolino)
Veneto
Public museum
Wine, beer or spirits
processing company
Food processing company
Wine, beer or spirits
processing company
Public museum
Wine, beer or spirits
processing company
Food processing company
Wine
Coffee
Spirits
Honey
Spirits
Olive oil
Tasks and audiences of Italian food museums
The endeavours to conceive food museums as places for preservation of food is limitative. Scholarly
researchers and practitioners emphasize that museums are agents of education and cultural heritage
interpretation (Everett, 2016; Moon, 2016; Williams, 2013). Traditional exhibitions of food-related
objects such as utensils, packaging and recipes narrate to visitors the history of regional and local
heritage, and are often supplemented by activities such as classes, workshops, cooking shows that
also actively engage the audience (Eckersley, 2019). Little is known about other key issues. Being
established more recently, it is possible that food museums are currently striving to create or improve
relationships with local communities and institutions, in order to gain recognition for their role and
value. Moving to the private museums, branding certainly represents a core function, but establishing
food museums can also serve to increase visitors’ awareness on the product, showing its value for
nutrition, safety, taste as well as for social and cultural development.
Table 2 summarizes the tasks that were examined within the second stage of this study. A greater
attention was paid on lesser-known issues, such as community engagement, revenue generation,
7
innovation, commercial purposes (branding and visibility), sharing personal interest. Responses
generally show the relevance of these tasks for food museums, but differences between public and
private entities can be noticed. Public museums primarily aimed at strengthening existing
relationships with local communities and institutions operating at different levels, along with
safeguarding and promoting the food heritage they display. Earning an income from charging visitors
might have helped their economic sustainability, but it was nevertheless considered less relevant.
This does not necessarily mean that they were paying less attention in improving their attractiveness
towards a wide audience. Private museums were mainly initiatives of company owners who expressed
the desire to promote new ways of learning, sharing and teaching local food heritage and, thus, to
contribute to awakening visitors’ interest in past and present issues concerning the product (nutrition,
safety, taste, …). They also aimed at creating value for the company by improving relationship with
local stakeholders and residents as well as spreading and reinforcing brand identity and company
image. In doing so, these entities aimed also at generating (directly or indirectly) revenues for the
company.
Table 2. Tasks of food museums
Tasks
Public Museum
Private Museum
N.
%
N.
%
15
88%
16
67%
11
65%
11
46%
8
47%
20
83%
Diversifying the offering
6
35%
6
25%
Creating new relationships
5
29%
0
0%
Increasing visibility
4
24%
12
50%
Encouraging innovation
3
18%
8
33%
Earning income
0
0%
5
21%
Total
17
100%
24
100%
Improving relationships with the local
community
Improving relationships with local and
national territorial institutions
Personal attitude/interest
To evaluate their perceived implementation, managers or owners were asked to express their
satisfaction with results obtained; in other word, whether they meet their expectations. Food museums
do not only sell ‘products’ (e.g. entrance tickets, souvenirs), but attempt to generate intangible
benefits that are difficult to quantify. Evaluating satisfaction, although limitative, therefore provides
useful indications for understanding their viability and capacity of fulfilling their tasks.
Respondents generally showed an overall satisfaction, from moderate to high, which tended to
increase among those who run a private entity (Table 3). Generally, it can be argued that higher levels
of satisfaction can lead to further improvements in food museums management and to the provision
of more sophisticated services. However, it does not shed light on their current sustainability.
Table 3. Level of satisfaction among museum owners/managers
Level of satisfaction
Public Museum
Private Museum
N.
%
N.
%
Very satisfied
9
53%
19
79%
Moderately satisfied
8
47%
5
21%
8
Total
17
100%
24
100%
With regards to their attractiveness, this study focused on identifying main targets. Table 4 shows
that food museums mainly attracted Italian customers, while foreigners were in a minority. Two
critical issues need to be further investigated following this. First, there is a need to address the
intrinsic role of major tourist routes, assuming that attachment to these routes will improve their
visibility towards a wider audience (including international travellers). Another critical issue is the
fact that many food museums might not have interpretation in other languages, which is hampering
a broader tourism attention.
Table 4. Main origin of visitors
Main origin of visitors
Public Museum
Private Museum
N.
%
N.
%
Italian tourists
14
82%
17
71%
Locals and operators
2
12%
2
8%
Foreign tourists
1
6%
5
21%
Total
17
100%
24
100%
Three cases
The previous sections have shed light on characteristics, tasks, perceived satisfaction and audience,
but lack in details about visitors’ engagement in services and activities. To fill this gap and gain a
deeper understanding of Italian food museums as tourists’ attractions, three company museums,
‘Perugina House of Chocolate’, ‘Galleria Campari’ and ‘Lavazza Museum’, have been considered
for a further analysis. All three of them have successfully mixed industry memory with visitors’
engagement and the intention of educating visitors about the product and improving the public
awareness of the brand.
Lavazza Museum, Turin
‘Lavazza Museum’ opened its doors to visitors in 2018. The renowned Italian coffee company created
an entire journey around its product and its history, as to allow visitors to engage with the Italian
coffee culture. The museum is located nearby the company headquarters in Turin, and it is worth
mentioning also that the modern and impressive architectural design matches with the historical
facades of the company, creating a visual continuity.
The museum is s designed and conceptualized as a circular journey through coffee and culture
with five thematic galleries. A number of digital and interactive technologies allow visitors to feel
immersed into the history of the Italian coffee brand, gain further understanding about the collection
of Lavazza icons (e.g. the “autobar” coffee van and the Carmencita coffee maker, calendars,
advertisement) and stimulate memories. The IT opportunities can be activated by a special device
provided to the visitors at the entrance – the device has the shape of an espresso cup. Particular
attention was devoted to the explanatory texts, which were performed by Holden School and
supervised by the writer Alessandro Baricco.
The circular journey starts with ‘Casa Lavazza’, a space that introduces visitors to the 120-year
history of the company, from the opening of the first grocery in 1895 to today. The ‘Fabbrica’ is a
copy of coffee production spaces that explains the production process from the raw material to the
cup. The ‘Piazza’ is a faithful reproduction of an Italian square, where people usually enjoy their own
coffee. The entire setting was designed to make visitors immersed in the typical Italian atmosphere,
where drinking coffee is not just a consumptive activity but conveys social, cultural and historical
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meanings. The ‘Atelier’ is a photographic studio with images and installations that tells the 60-year
history of creative collaboration of Lavazza company. Educational workshops for children are
organized while adults can go back in time recalling advertising spots and iconic characters. Before
entering to a subsequent space, four workstations allow visitors to take souvenir photos with the icons
of the company's creative history. Finally, the ‘Universo’ is an immersive space with 360° multimedia
projection. Visitors can use their own cup to customize their journey into the Lavazza world. The
journey ends with tastings of a special coffee recipe.
Perugina House of Chocolate, Perugia
‘Perugina Historic Museum’ is a company museum established in 1997 by the famous Italian
chocolate factory. Ten years after, on the company’s centenary, the museum was implemented and
was given the name of ‘Perugina House of Chocolate’, a place that today includes, along with the
museum, the Chocolate Factory, the Chocolate School and the Gift Shop. Visitors are provided with
the opportunity to discover the history of the brand and its products from its foundation onwards.
They can achieve practical knowledge about the chocolate manufacturing process and to have handson opportunities to co-create their own chocolates.
The journey starts with a guided visit to the historical museum, containing a collection of images,
videos and artefacts considered of immense value. This collection is currently under heritage
protection. The visit introduces customers to the history of the company and the chocolate making
process, and ends with guided chocolate tasting. The Chocolate Factory is the real place of production
where customers can see production phases and discover the tools and machinery employed. After
this tour, customers can buy Perugina chocolate and themed gifts in the shop. ‘Perugina House of
Chocolate’ also hosts the Chocolate School, a place with 14 cooking stations furnished with all the
instruments that enable participants to work with the chocolate, independently or with assistance. A
number of master classes, artist classes and trend classes are organized, both for professionals and
amateurs. Those attending the courses receive a certificate of participation, the recipe of their own
creation and an apron.
Galleria Campari, Milan
‘Galleria Campari’ opened in 2010 inside the restored liberty-style building where the factory
established its headquarters in 1904. This company museum is conceptualized as a journey through
Campari, a popular Italian alcoholic liqueur, its artistic heritage and the art of drinking. The museum
welcomed 15,000 guests in 2018, ranging from general visitors, students from primary and secondary
schools as well as universities, PRs and communication agents, events’ guests and bartenders.
The entire exhibition is an evocative journey through space and time. The first floor of ‘Galleria
Campari’ introduces visitors to the history of the brand along with three main thematic lines (art,
communication and production). The second floor is centred on the product and encompasses
installations, the reproduction of a bar, exposition of historic bottles and glasses, and of a selection
of design objects and vintage merchandising. Visitors are engaged and immersed in the atmosphere
with multimedia technologies: a video wall provided with 15 screens has been dedicated to carousels 1
from the 50s to the 70s; the 8 high-definition projectors display animated vintage posters on a 32meter wall, videos dedicated to artists, images extrapolated from calendars and advertising spots from
the 80s to today. Finally, an interactive table with 12 touch screens allows the guest to observe the
company's vast artistic heritage.
The peculiarity of this company museum also relies on the unique and vast historical archive, a
transversal cultural deposit with over 3,000 works on paper: sketches and autographed drawings,
posters of the Belle Époque; posters and advertising graphics from the 1930s to the 90s designed by
important artists such as Marcello Dudovich, Leonetto Cappiello, Fortunato Depero, Franz
Marangolo, Guido Crepax, Bruno Munari, Ugo Nespolo; carousels and advertising spots directed by
The word “carousels” recalls the advertising spots that were transmitted during the Italian television show “Carosello”,
which was broadcast on RAI-Radio Televisione Italiana from 1957 to 1977.
1
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figures such as Federico Fellini, Singh Tarsem and Paolo Sorrentino; artefacts designed by Matteo
Thun, Dodo Arslan, Markus Benesch and Matteo Ragni. Many have been digitalized and converted
into installations that interact with the original works.
‘Galleria Campari’ offers to visitors two options: a free tour, autonomously accessible, and the Art
& Mixology tour, a guided tour accompanied by art historian and a mixologist culminating with the
cocktail experience. The museum also organizes temporary exhibitions, educational and research
activities, and promotes publications on the history of the company through art and design. The
museum lends material to other institutions and is active on the historical-critical consulting sectors
to support curatorial projects.
DISCUSSION
Food museums are generally recognized as agents of preservation, education and cultural heritage
interpretation. Professional literature also emphasizes their capability to attract new audiences, which
makes museums centered on food potential points of interest for local and foreign visitors (Everett,
2016; Garibaldi, 2019a; Hjalager, 2002; Mitchell and Mitchell, 2001; Moon, 2016; Williams, 2013).
However, still little is known about these entities, especially in regard to tourism related issues. From
this point of view, this study attempts to advance the current knowledge by depicting a wider picture
of Italian food museums in terms of characteristics, tasks, audience and modalities for visitors’
engagement.
Italy has a highly developed foodscape with a long tradition in food museums – earlier concepts
were established in the 90s. At the time of the survey (2016) 99 entities, widespread throughout all
regions, were operative and open to public. Among them, 48 were public and 51 private companies,
mainly food and wine producers and processing companies. The view and perspective on food
museums are limitative if perceiving them only as places for preservation and interpretation. Aspects
of community engagement, which over time for the museums emerged as an important task, must be
considered. For public institutions, creating or improving relationships with local communities and
institutions was crucial to get a much-needed recognition. In private companies, engaging with local
stakeholders and residents mainly serves branding purposes, but the local commitment and personal
interest of the owner can create productive links between the private food museums and their
surrounding communities.
With regards to their audience, both public and private museums were appealing to domestic
travellers while foreigners were in a minority. This limited capability to catch a wider public may be
caused by lack of visibility and language issues. However, the museum experience and offer may not
meet new visitors’ needs and expectations. The professional literature clearly shows that exhibitions
of food-related objects are often radically improved, if they can be supplemented by hands-on
experiences, which can actively engage the audience (Eckersley, 2019). Case studies analyzed within
this study underline the importance of planning an overall experience around food. ‘Lavazza
Museum’, ‘Perugina House of Chocolate’ and ‘Galleria Campari’ placed a particular attention on
designing and framing the journey inside the museums with multimedia technologies that facilitate
the communication of the industry memory, while practical activities such as workshop and classes
contribute to deeply engage visitors with food heritage.
CONCLUSIONS
This study contributes to advancement of the current knowledge on food museums, shedding light on
the diverse tasks they are striving to achieve and their current attractiveness for tourists. It also
succeeds in creating a dataset including all Italian food museums, with insights on their geographical
distribution, ownership and speciality of the exhibition.
The survey – with its obvious limitations in scope and scale – may hopefully inspire further studies
in filling knowledge gaps. There is a need for comparative studies across European and other
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countries. Further studies can draw attention to critical issues and perspectives of food museums in
the context of tourism, for example the role of the private versus the public entities. The growing
competition among food tourism attractions and destinations will likely lead to new challenges for
food museums, and they will have to through new business models and interpretation methods to
increase their power of fascination. Captivating while preserving and promoting the cultural heritage
is a strategic task for museums in a time and context characterized by economic uncertainty.
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WEBSITES
Museo Lavazza: https://museo.lavazza.com/en.html [Last access: 10 July 2020]
Casa del Cioccolato Perugina: https://www.perugina.com/it/casa-del-cioccolato/la-casa [Last access: 10 July 2020]
Galleria Campari: https://www.campari.com/it/inside-campari/campari-gallery [Last access: 10 July 2020]
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