Terra Madre 2026 carries forward Carlo Petrini's legacy, marks 40 years of Slow Food and celebrates biodiversity in all its forms: the event takes place in Turin, from 24 to 27 September
From 24 to 27 September, Turin plays host to Terra Madre Salone del Gusto, the international event dedicated to good, clean and fair food and food policy. Organised by Slow Food, the City of Turin and the Piedmont Region, with the patronage of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests and Ismea, the event celebrates 40 years of Slow Food Italia, in memory of Carlo Petrini, the founder of Slow Food who passed away last May.
"We were born under the star of change, from a desire to overturn the simplistic and reductive way food was being treated and to challenge a performative conception of time. An approach that was disruptive forty years ago and remains relevant today," declared Barbara Nappini, president of Slow Food Italia. "Carlin would not have wanted us to mourn: Slow Food is alive and ready to carry forward his legacy."
The claim of the 2026 edition will be Biodiversity – Be Diversity, with the value of biodiversity expressed across all its dimensions: natural, agricultural, gastronomic, cultural and social. Biodiversity is the theme Slow Food has been working on since its founding in 1986, developing innovative projects such as the Ark of Taste, the Slow Food Presidia and the Slow Food Cooks' Alliance, all of which take centre stage at Terra Madre.
"Forty years ago, Slow Food was born because Carlin Petrini, at a time when everything was moving towards homogenisation and standardisation, embodied diversity and proposed embracing and reading complexity through an everyday element: food. That disruptive approach sparked a joyful revolution. Today, among the most challenging tasks he has left us is the creation of 18 Atlases of the Ark of Taste, one for each region – Barbara Nappini continued – These volumes tell the stories of foods at risk of being forgotten, of communities and territories, of customs and popular knowledge. But at the same time they are universal experiences. In this dual nature, local and universal, lies the preciousness of this work, which reaffirms the value of diversity. Biodiversity – Be Diversity is our call to transform differences into an active lever for growth."
Terra Madre will bring life to the centre of Turin along the axis connecting piazza Carlo Felice to piazza Vittorio Veneto, passing through via Roma, piazza San Carlo, piazza Carlo Alberto, piazza Castello, Palazzo Reale and Musei Reali, tracing a route that draws in museums, stately palaces and sites of art, culture and history. It is a choice aimed at integrating Terra Madre ever more deeply into the urban fabric, making the most of existing spaces as places for encounter, dialogue and participation.
A major exhibition will spotlight the Slow Food Presidia, Ark of Taste products and the communities that protect and champion them every day; significant space is dedicated to the thematic networks Slow Grains, Slow Mais, Slow Beans, Slow Rice and Slow Olive, as well as the Slow Food network of chestnut growers, the Presidium of permanent meadows and pastures, and the world of the Terre Alte. The centrepiece of the event will be the great Producers' Market, bringing together hundreds of exhibitors who bear witness to the biodiversity of every region of Italy and of countries from around the world.
At the heart of the event, as always, are the conferences, ranging across a variety of topical themes — from food and sustainability to agriculture, social justice and food policy — alongside the Taste Workshops and events featuring chefs from the Slow Food Cooks' Alliance. To mark 40 years of Slow Food, the Gallerie d'Italia will host a programme of conversations with actors, writers, farmers, chefs, journalists, scientists and philosophers. And there is more: educational activities designed for all ages, initiatives centred on the world of bees and pollinators, the space dedicated to the Slow Food Coalitions for wine, coffee, cacao and ciders, and, as ever, the Terra Madre Enoteca.
Terra Madre will be, as always, the meeting point of the global Slow Food network, with over 1,500 producers, chefs, fishers, livestock farmers, agricultural producers, scholars, young people and activists from around the world. Among the most authoritative voices featured in talks and conferences will be Satish Kumar, activist, educator and writer known for his commitment to peace, ecology and sustainability movements; Alice Waters, chef and essayist, activist for food education; Raj Patel, economist and analyst of global food systems; Eric Schlosser, writer and investigative journalist; marine biologists Roberto Danovaro and Helen Scales; philosopher Tommaso Greco; actress Lella Costa and food historian Massimo Montanari, actor and singer-songwriter Moni Ovadia, actor and comedian Paolo Hendel, master baker Fulvio Marino.
"When I arrived at Terra Madre for the first time, in 2008, I didn't know Torino or Piemonte. Today, thanks to this experience shared by thousands of people from every corner of the world, these places have become international symbols of food culture, sustainability and cooperation," said Edward Mukiibi, president of Slow Food. "Here, farmers, fishers, chefs, indigenous peoples and activists meet — people who often work in very different contexts but face common challenges. Terra Madre creates connections between these communities, makes their experiences visible and transforms their knowledge into a collective force capable of shaping the future. This is its true strength: changing people and, through people and the communities that build new solutions together, changing the world."
"What lies beneath. Good food is born from the health of the earth" is the title of an in-depth session to be held on Thursday 27 September at 7pm at the Arena Terre Alte – San Bernardo in Piazza San Carlo.
Soil produces our food, filters rainwater, captures carbon, regulates the climate and underpins all of the planet's vital cycles. It takes thousands of years to create just a few centimetres of fertile topsoil, and only a few minutes to destroy it. Yet soil consumption continues to advance and, where construction is not the culprit, industrial agriculture depletes fertility through chemical fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides and compaction caused by heavy machinery. Nutrient-poor soil will produce food that is poor in nutritional value — or none at all. This extraordinary ecosystem, which is home to two thirds of the planet's biodiversity, is the foundation of our diet — not only of plant-based produce but also of the quality of milk, cheese and meat — of our wellbeing and our future. And it is our responsibility to care for it, by choosing agricultural models capable of preserving and regenerating it.
The discussion will feature Maria Grazia Mammucini, president of Federbio, Dario Fornara, Research Director at Davines Group – Rodale Institute European Regenerative Organic Center (Eroc), Chiara Murano, Eataly alla radice project, Giorgio Baracani, president of Conapi, Sergio Capaldo, founder of La Granda and Agricoltura Simbiotica, Slow Food Presidium for the Piemontese cattle breed. Moderated by Francesco Sottile, agronomist, lecturer at the University of Palermo and vice-president of Slow Food Italia.
