Cooperatives, Agri-Tourism and Food Trails: Promoting Sustainable Food Systems in Le Marche, Italy

a hybridization process. These ‘creolizations’ also pose the question of whether re-creations of traditional products are possible in new and different contexts (Sassatelli, 2019). For example, in spite of schemes to ensure the protection of some products and practices, such as Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) and Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), questions of authenticity or cultural appropriation are still a source of debate for creations such as ramen, jerk, pizza and even poutine (Bilefsky, 2017; Ceccarini, 2014; Rahim, 2019). In this paper, we enquire whether food ‘traditiovations’ can meet these challenges and hold up to their promise in real-life contexts. We present three case studies in Le Marche, Italy, a typically rural region knit together by small historically rooted comuni (municipalities). With its wealth of food traditions and its present need of socio-economic revitalization, in recent years Le Marche has been a lively participant in the wave of traditional-innovative approaches to food production and consumption that is sweeping Italy and other countries, with an underlying strategy of fostering rural development while improving the sustainability of regional agriculture. Because of its specific constellation of historical characteristics and present circumstances, Le Marche represents an especially significant and disruptive ‘laboratory’ for cross-fertilization of tradition and innovation in food and food systems. We have focused on three related examples: 1) the work of Rocca Madre, a community agricultural cooperative with a commitment to social farming, which has been developing local short-chain organic products based on the reintroduction of heritage cultivars and the introduction of locally adapted mixtures of cereals; 2) Agriturismo sites, small farms where tourists can stay to experience local rural life; and, finally; 3) the Comune of Montedinove’s annual Sapori ed Arte food trail festival which, showcasing the region’s traditional dishes, exemplifies the hybrid approach of ‘traditiovations’ and suggests the disruptive potential of diverse local knowledge systems toward sustainability (Cannarella and Piccioni, 2011; Pereira et. al, 2019).