An exhibition space, a global network, and an invitation to explore the world's food systems. It opens on 16 October, on the occasion of World Food Day.

The FAO Mune, Museum and Network for Food and Agriculture, opens on 16 October in Rome — a project designed to raise awareness of how everyone, through their own actions, can contribute to food security around the world.

The inauguration coincides with World Food Day and the celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the FAO, which has been headquartered in the Italian capital since 1951. The exhibition, which spans 1,300 square metres within the historic former David Lubin Library building inside FAO headquarters, will be open to visitors from 20 October, Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm, by appointment.

Mune is both a physical and digital space that illustrates the importance of global agri-food systems, culinary and agricultural traditions, scientific progress and innovation, and the role of women, young people and indigenous populations in building a sustainable food future.

The visitor journey unfolds across several thematic rooms and immersive spaces: it begins by retracing the history of the FAO, followed by digital and photographic installations presenting the Four Betters — better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life. There is also the Foods Lab, a world kitchen hosting workshops, tastings and events; the FAO library with rare collections of volumes, books and digital archives; a section dedicated to Traditions and Innovations, which brings traditional farming knowledge and new technologies into dialogue; the Forest of Awareness, a reflection through art designed to inspire concrete action; the Table of Conviviality and the Tree of Life from Expo 2015, exploring Italy's relationship with the FAO; and finally the World of Actions, a concluding space inviting each visitor to become a food hero.

The museum also hosts contemporary artworks, including pieces by Michelangelo Pistoletto, Pablo Atchugarry and Umberto Ughi, alongside donations from more than 25 FAO member countries: symbolic objects, agricultural tools, traditions and innovations that tell the stories of communities, peoples and cultures.

Mune is a diffuse museum, extending well beyond its main premises to include the Global Library of Trees and Flowers (FAO Park) at Villa Doria Pamphilj — a living library of trees and flowers from around the world — and Pompei Sostenibile, an educational trail through the archaeological park of Pompei that invites visitors to rediscover the sustainable practices of the past.

Mune is also a network, functioning as a global hub for collaboration and partnerships, as well as a platform for fostering dialogue between countries, nations and small villages. By sharing best practices, the museum and the network aim to demonstrate how agri-food systems can serve as engines of sustainable development.

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World Food Day 2025, under the slogan Hand in Hand for Better Food and a Better Future, also calls for global collaboration among governments, organisations, sectors and communities to transform agri-food systems so that everyone has access to nutritious food in harmony with the planet.