A journey spanning a thousand years, transforming one of Italy’s oldest cheeses into a global and “pop” phenomenon. The Consortium for the Protection of Gorgonzola Cheese celebrated its 56th Annual Members’ Meeting in Milan, an event that takes on special symbolic significance this year:

it marks the 30th anniversary of Gorgonzola’s inclusion among products with Protected Designation of Origin (June 1996).

The event, held on May 7 at the Westin Palace and moderated by Francesca Romana Barberini, featured a discussion between the Consortium President Antonio Auricchio and experts such as Mauro Rosati, Director of the Qualivita and Origin Italia Foundation; food writer Federico Quaranta; food anthropologist Ilaria Vitali; and food creator Federico Fusca.

The event received significant institutional support, featuring video messages from Minister Francesco Lollobrigida (MASAF) and the presidents of the Lombardy Region, Attilio Fontana, and the Piedmont Region, Alberto Cirio. For the event, the Consortium chose the comprehensive title “A UNIQUE FLAVOR FOR OVER A THOUSAND YEARS,” highlighting the journey Gorgonzola has taken since its origins, which date back to the year 1007 in the regions of Piedmont and Lombardy, to becoming a product without equal in the world, capable of successfully adapting to new communication trends and becoming the fifth most important certified product in the Italian agri-food sector (Ismea-Qualivita Report).

THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE PDO ECONOMY

Mauro Rosati, author of the new book “The Philosophy of the PDO Economy,” emphasized that the agri-food sector is the only one experiencing structural growth in Italy (+25.3% since 2020): “Thirty years ago in Italy, the leading sectors were fashion and the automotive, while cheese spoke French; today, Gorgonzola is a symbol of identity:” We may not have

the national soccer team to root for, but we have Gorgonzola!”

A model that, Auricchio adds, also promotes generational renewal: in PDO and PGI companies, there is a much higher percentage of young people who choose to stay in the region.

Federico Quaranta agrees, explaining how the men who produce Gorgonzola “have turned it into a legend. It dates back to the time of the Cistercian monks, Cistercium means marsh, and from there, man reclaimed the land and created fields for forage.

That’s how Gorgonzola became a symbol of Italian identity, and without that identity, Italy is nothing.

FROM THE MIDDLE AGES TO SOCIAL MEDIA: A CHAMELEONIC ICON

Ilaria Vitali, founder of the food Anthropology Workshop where people from all over the world come together to cook, talks about off-the-beaten-path products, which must be experienced to be understood: “I believe there is a bold beauty in the veins of Gorgonzola, a diversity that offers

countless ways to describe it, from legends to its role as a symbol of Italian identity around the world. But to help my son get past his initial reservations, I explained it to him this way: it’s the cheese with tattoos—the one with the character to stand out from all the rest. Thanks to the protection of the Consortium, Gorgonzola can now be considered a confident traveler that isn’t afraid to take on the world; it’s an icon

a chameleon-like figure that, thanks to its bold yet gentle nature, is able to embrace diversity without ever losing sight of its nature, because it knows exactly where it comes from.”

The versatility of Gorgonzola is also highlighted by Federico Fusca, a “pop chef” with over 1.3 million followers who has created numerous recipes for the Consortium. “It’s a cheese that pairs well with so many different flavors without ever losing its character. I like to present it in a simple way, but with that “pop” vibe that can reach a wide audience.

Partly thanks to the use of a macro lens, a nice, creamy Gorgonzola in the foreground is simply irresistible.”

From a Dop cheese to a Pop icon, the event aimed to celebrate and share the long journey of Gorgonzola Dop. A product steeped in classic Italian culinary tradition, it has, thanks to its distinctive “personality,” managed to reinvent its image and appeal to new generations of consumers, spanning the years from 1007 to the new millennium.