Tasting Ancestry: Food and Wine Traditions as Drivers of Roots Tourism in Italy's Italea

This paper explores how food and wine traditions contribute to the construction of roots tourism in Italy through the Italea project, aimed at Italian emigrants and their descendants. Focusing on the link between migration memory, ancestral places and territorial hospitality, the study analyses 124 itineraries, 113 food-related events and the Italea Magazine published between 2024 and 2025. It shows that gastronomy becomes a meaningful driver of roots tourism when local products, recipes, festivals, tastings and workshops are connected to family memory, return journeys, migrant heritage and communities of origin. However, the analysis also reveals that food tourism and roots tourism do not automatically overlap: gastronomic experiences become “roots” experiences only when embedded in narratives of ancestry, belonging and reconnection. The paper argues that enogastronomy can strengthen roots tourism and support marginal inland areas, provided that storytelling, local networks, hospitality services and territorial governance transform food heritage into an accessible experience of return. At the same time, the paper reflects on the structural fragilities of the Italian roots tourism strategy after the conclusion of the financial support provided by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAECI) for the Italea project in 2024–2025. The end of dedicated funding raises critical questions concerning the long-term sustainability of roots tourism initiatives, the continuity of local networks, the maintenance of digital platforms and itineraries, and the capacity of municipalities and small communities to preserve and promote heritage-based experiences without stable institutional investment. The study therefore highlights the risk that roots tourism may remain an episodic policy experiment unless integrated into broader territorial development strategies capable of ensuring continuity, professionalization and long-term governance beyond celebratory or commemorative frameworks.