In Turkey, the Week of Italian Cuisine had over 40 events on its agenda, held in the cities of Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir. Such a large number of events was made possible thanks to the participation of all the players in the panorama of Cultural and Economic Promotion of Italian products in the world. Italy was also the “Guest Country” at the gastronomic festival “Gastromasa”, which saw the presence of 2000 professionals of the sector and international chefs.
The program of the Week of Italian Cuisine saw the Michelin-starred chef, Christoph Bob (Monastero Santa Rosa, Amalfi) author a special Italian menu at the Hilton Hotel in Ankara and hold a training course at Bilkent University. In addition, special corners dedicated to Italian products were set up in all the points of sale of a well-known distribution chain.
In Istanbul, the Consulate General organized a conference at the theatre Teatro della Casa d’Italia entitled ‘Mediterranean Diet (s): the taste for health’.
On the occasion of the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death, the Cultural Institute organized a conference held by architect Chiara Rostagno, Director of the Last Supper in Milan. The topic of the conference was Leonardo’s Last Supper which is preserved in the refectory of the church Santa Maria delle Grazie. Through documents, images and writings, Chiara Rostagno described the beauty of this work of art to the audience and pointed out how fragile it is, and she also recalled the courage of those who over time have struggled to save it.
Finally, in Izmir, the Italian Consulate organized two workshops for the students of the Gastronomy Departments of Izmir Economy University and of Yasar University with a focus on the promotion of the Mediterranean diet. At the Dokuz Eylul State University, the Italian translator of the novels of the Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk gave a lesson on translation and on cooking.
