Unesco creative city for gastronomy 2023: Castelbuono- Corriere.it is a candidate

It is no wonder that to relaunch the media the candidacy of Castelbuono (Palermo) as Unesco Creative City for gastronomy 2023 and the pastry chef Nicola Fiasconaro, whose family runs a thriving company (since 1953) of traditional Sicilian sweets, to which over the years the production of panettone, known and purchased in Italy and in the world, has been added.

In Milan, during the Golosaria event, on November 5, Fiasconaro, welcomed (and awarded) by Paolo Massobrio, summarized the meaning of a candidacy, officially presented to the Federico II Foundation of Palermo: The medieval village of Castelbuono boasts a thousand-year-old creativity, with a strong vocation for sustainability and has always found its best expression in the ability to transform our natural resources into identity traits for our culture. The recognition of a Sicilian creative city would finally bring a well-deserved representation of our Region within the Unesco network.

In Fiasconaro’s words there is the synthesis of a territory, a site in the center of the Madone Park (since 2015 included in the list of Unesco world Geoparks), which boasts of being the richest place in biodiversity in Sicily and one of the richest in the whole Mediterranean. Hence a series of typical and even rare agri-food products, such as manna (food par excellence according to the sacred tradition), which flows from the bark of the ash trees, the main tree of the local woods. La manna, a Slow Food presidium, it is included in the national list of traditional agri-food products of the Ministry of Agricultural Policies. The commitment of Slow Food (Condotta delle Madonie) has been working for years to restore value to food, respecting those who produce, in harmony with the environment.

Traditional cuisine is characterized by the use of wild vegetables and spontaneous herbs. The typical flavors and aromas of the place recall oils, almonds, raisins, lemon, pistachio … In addition to the manna mentioned above, another exceptional product is the truffle (incidentally, Truffle hunting and quarrying are recognized as Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2021). Castelbuono is part of the National Association of the Truffle City. Finally, the healthy Mediterranean diet (Unesco intangible asset) characterizes the cultural identity of the Madonie. For this reason Castelbuono, aspiring to become a Unesco creative city for gastronomy 2023, also aims to enter as an Ambassador city of the Mediterranean diet.