“Il Veronelli” - 12.000 bottles in the wine cellar and 6.500 books in the library

“Il Veronelli” is a real and symbolic place that houses and collects the heart of Luigi Veronelli’s cultural heritage. It is now opening, 20 years after the death of the undisputed “father” of Italian food and wine journalism and criticism, in the ex Convento dei Neveri in Bariano, Bergamo (WineNews will talk about it in a video coming soon). It will bring to life the memory of one of the most influential personalities who contributed to the material culture in our Country, and make his thoughts known to the wider public. The archive is a selection of material, including paper and media documentation, to study Veronelli’s approach and working methods, while the library hosts 6.500 books on cuisine, wine, spirits and rural civilization, embellished with a selection of texts for bibliophiles. It houses a reproduction of his study, and the wine cellar has been rebuilt exactly like the original one in his house in Bergamo Alta, which houses 12.000 bottles. The tasting room is an environment where one can “listen to the wines”, surrounded by Veronelli’s writings on tasting, and the famous photo by Toni Thorimbert. There is also a café showing drawings created for Alessi, panels with the names and menus of the restaurants that participated in the Lombard Food Championship, created together with the great journalist, Gianni Brera in the 1960s, and recipes of some of his cocktails.
Gian Arturo Rota, head of “Il Veronelli”, explained that it “was created to continue the organic arrangement of Luigi Veronelli’s material (started in 2010), to make his thoughts known and to keep his memory alive. Remembering him is not, or, is not only celebratory, but rather a springboard to act according to two of his musts: “doing something new” and “celebrating life”. It will offer food for thought, bring us closer to a vision of the world, and show that Veronelli’s work is highly relevant today. This is why it will be a dynamic place, where many events will be held (its own, and for those who wish to do so, by third parties), and open to people (students, scholars, professionals, enthusiasts), interested in deepening their knowledge of the famous journalist-writer, and through him, of Italian food, wine and material culture”. “Luigi Veronelli spoke about land, knowledge, skills, collaboration, educating toward conscious consumption. He talked about the future. He was, above all, an innovator and a pioneer. His enormous work, alongside producers and restaurateurs, and of spreading knowledge and raising people's awareness, have contributed to making wine and agri-food production and quality Italian cuisine appreciated all over the world, as we know them today”, Angela Maculan, president of the Luigi Veronelli Permanent Seminar said.
“Luigi Veronelli placed the relationship between nature and culture at the center, because that is where knowledge, art and science develop. Wine and food, Gino said, possess the qualities for which it makes sense to talk about the “work” of human creativity and planning. A person is at the center, though he is not perfect, because the search for truth is an infinite process of approximation, of which we are the main players. The best, genuine wine, as Veronelli stated, is the result of this process, which will never end”, the philosopher Aldo Colonetti concluded.