There was a time when telling the story of wine, food and territories meant, above all, taking the time to listen. Long before social media, influencers and content designed to last only a few seconds, Mario Soldati had already understood that true gastronomic storytelling was born from people, landscapes and the stories hidden inside a trattoria or a wine cellar. With his celebrated “Journey Through the Po Valley”, Soldati anticipated a way of communicating that today feels surprisingly modern: authentic, human and deeply connected to experience.
One hundred and twenty years after his birth, the project “Mario Soldati, the Taste of Telling Italy” now takes shape. The initiative is promoted by Chiara Soldati, fourth generation of La Scolca and cousin of the writer, together with the Associazione Mario Soldati, under the patronage of ITA – Italian Trade Agency, MASAF and Veronafiere Vinitaly. The tour will begin in Rome before moving to Milan, New York and London, crossing territories, languages and cultural identities linked to Italy’s gastronomic heritage.
More than a nostalgic celebration, the format aims to become a reflection on the present state of food and wine communication. In an era dominated by overtourism, fast content, artificial intelligence and pre-packaged storytelling, Soldati’s approach once again feels remarkably relevant. Slowness, observation, respect for places and direct relationships with people become essential tools for rediscovering authenticity in a narrative landscape increasingly shaped by visual immediacy.
For this reason, Mario Soldati can be considered, in many ways, Italy’s first true “content creator”: not because he simplified storytelling, but because he transformed taste into a cultural, emotional and deeply human experience.
The Roman event, moderated by RAI journalist Anna Scafuri, brought together voices from television, wine and academia to explore the contemporary legacy of the Piedmontese writer. Among the speakers were Master of Wine Cristina Mercuri, Il Gusto Repubblica journalist Manuela Zennaro, television author Isabella Perugini, university professor Stefano Carboni, TV author Marcello Masi and Chiara Soldati herself.
“His modernity lies in his freedom of expression and in his ability to make what was considered sophisticated become popular, and vice versa, always engaging with stories in a deeply human way,” explained Chiara Soldati. “That is what made his message so powerful: his unique way of looking at the world and understanding food and wine as an emotional experience, rooted in slow dining, moderate consumption and the search for origins.”
After its debut at the Foreign Press Association in Rome, the project will continue on October 6 at the Fondazione Mondadori, before heading to Vinitaly USA on October 26 and concluding on November 18 at Casa Italia
