An encounter with Sara Vitali has led to a collaboration dedicated to exploring Italy through art, gastronomy, wine and its territories. At its heart is a book by Ilaria Guidantoni and Antonio Paolini, a journey through more than 300 places where culture and taste become a single experience. Every week, Wining.it will take readers on a journey to discover the destinations featured in the book.
Some collaborations arise from opportunity, while others grow out of a shared vision. The partnership between Wining.it and Cinquesensi Editore belongs to the latter category. It is rooted in the belief that Italy’s cultural heritage cannot be understood through separate categories, because art, gastronomy, wine, landscapes and territories are different expressions of the same identity. And because Made in Italy, before being a collection of outstanding products, represents a heritage of culture, creativity, knowledge and hospitality.
It was precisely this shared outlook that brought us together with Sara Vitali, who heads Cinquesensi Editore. We share a desire to tell the stories behind what makes Italy recognisable around the world, moving beyond conventional narratives of tourism, food and wine. This sensibility finds a tangible expression in A Tavola con l’Arte. Italia, the book written by Ilaria Guidantoni and Antonio Paolini, published by Cinquesensi Editore and available in bookshops since 13 October.
For Wining.it, this collaboration also marks another step in the development of its editorial identity: exploring gastronomy beyond the plate, wine beyond the tasting glass, and territories beyond their role as tourist destinations. Our aim is to uncover the connections between these worlds, telling the stories of the people, ideas and experiences that bring them to life.
Three Hundred Destinations to Discover a Different Italy
Six hundred and forty pages, more than 300 destinations across all 20 Italian regions, and a guiding idea as simple as it is fascinating: discovering beauty in places devoted to good food, and good food in places devoted to beauty.
A Tavola con l’Arte. Italia is much more than a gastronomic guide or a catalogue of artistic destinations. It maps the connections between cultural expressions that have long been presented separately but are increasingly finding ways to come together. Museums becoming places of conviviality, historic residences opening their doors to fine dining, traditional restaurants displaying works of art, contemporary wineries designed by leading architects, and vineyards transformed into open-air exhibition spaces.
The book follows three complementary paths: “Cucina nei luoghi d’arte” (Dining in Places of Art), dedicated to gastronomic experiences in museums, historic villas and cultural venues; “Arte in tavola” (Art at the Table), exploring restaurants and trattorias where art becomes an integral part of the experience; and “Arte nel bicchiere” (Art in the Glass), where the world of wine meets architecture, creativity and contemporary artistic expression.
The research extends far beyond major cities and famous destinations. It takes readers through villages, lesser-known places and locations where historical heritage meets new approaches to entrepreneurship and hospitality. The authors deliberately avoid rankings, choosing instead to highlight the distinctive character of each experience. It is a meaningful decision, encouraging discovery rather than comparison, and an appreciation of a place’s value rather than reducing it to a score.
Ilaria Guidantoni and Antonio Paolini: Two Perspectives, One Story
Behind this vision are two authors whose different professional backgrounds complement each other particularly well.
Ilaria Guidantoni brings a background in the humanities and philosophy, together with extensive experience in culture and the arts. A graduate in Theoretical Philosophy from the Università Cattolica in Milan, she specialises in Mediterranean culture, curates exhibitions and cultural events, and has developed a career in writing and translation spanning literature, poetry and aesthetic thought. She is also an AIS-qualified sommelier, a qualification that further enriches her interdisciplinary approach. Her recent works include Il bacio da sfogliare, published by Cinquesensi in 2024 and recognised with literary awards.
Antonio Paolini, an economics journalist and food and wine critic, contributes an in-depth understanding of the restaurant and wine industries, developed over decades of journalism. For almost 30 years, he worked at Il Messaggero and held senior roles in some of Italy’s most influential guides, including Vini de L’Espresso and Gambero Rosso’s Ristoranti d’Italia. The author and co-author of numerous food and wine publications, he remains active in the industry through editorial consultancy and specialist guides.
The combination of their expertise is one of the book’s most compelling qualities. On one side, the ability to interpret places through history, art and culture; on the other, first-hand knowledge of gastronomy, wine and the dynamics of hospitality.
The authors sum up the spirit of their work in a particularly effective phrase: “Si può dare di più” — “We can offer more.” More than a museum visit, more than a meal at a restaurant, more than a winery tasting. What matters is the opportunity to create an experience that engages different sensibilities and turns the discovery of a place into a deeper form of understanding.
A Weekly Journey Through Art, Gastronomy and Italy’s Territories
This belief is also the foundation of the most tangible aspect of the collaboration. Every week, Wining.it will share one of the features from A Tavola con l’Arte, gradually building an itinerary across Italy’s 20 regions.
Rather than simply suggesting places to visit or restaurants in which to dine, the aim is to offer new perspectives on Italy. We will discover how an architectural project can transform a winery into a cultural destination, how cuisine can engage in dialogue with an art collection, and how a historic palace can find a contemporary purpose through hospitality.
It will also be an opportunity to showcase aspects of Italy’s heritage that often remain outside the best-known tourist circuits, despite being essential to the appeal of their regions. Wining.it’s digital presence and international outlook will help bring these stories to audiences beyond Italy, reaching readers and travellers eager to discover a less predictable side of the country.
A Different Way of Telling the Made in Italy Story
There is one aspect of A Tavola con l’Arte that perhaps best captures the meaning of this initiative: the idea that the value of a territory lies not only in the individual excellences it produces, but in the relationships it creates between them.
A restaurant can become a gateway to the history of a community, a museum can offer an experience that engages all the senses, and a winery can tell the story of a landscape, its architecture and the creativity of its people. These connections help define Italian identity and make its cultural heritage something alive, capable of evolving and engaging with the present.
This is the Italy we want to explore: not simply a succession of outstanding products and places, but an interwoven world of people, culture, ideas and destinations. An Italy where beauty and taste are not separate experiences, but two complementary ways of telling the same story.
A story that Wining.it will now help bring to its readers every week.
The Book
A Tavola con l’Arte. Italia – Il cibo d’autore nei luoghi dell’arte e l’arte nei luoghi del cibo d’autore
Authors: Ilaria Guidantoni and Antonio Paolini
Publisher: Cinquesensi Editore
Pages: 640
Price: €30
Available in bookshops: Since 13 October 2026
