Vinitaly and the City: wine, art and culture in the heart of Verona

Welcome back to Vinitaly and the City: Verona once again takes on the colours of wine passion 31 March-3 April, animating the most evocative squares in the historic centre.

More than 50 appointments are scheduled  during the off-show Vinitaly event specifically for wine lovers. The format focuses on wine through tastings, art, music and culture: and everything comes to life in the unique context of the city’s UNESCO World Heritage monuments and history.

Vinitaly and the City events and tastings are hosted in Piazza dei Signori (Loggia of Fra Giocondo, Loggia Antia, Torre dei Lamberti), Cortile Mercato Vecchio and Cortile del Tribunale.

The calendar of events meets every taste. Starting with wine and the guided tastings of the most representative labels from every region in Italy thanks to the amazing Vivite Wine Showcase – not to mention those receiving awards in the Gambero Rosso 2023 Italian Wine Guide.

You can also enjoy an exclusive toast at 84 metres above ground on the panoramic terrace of the Lamberti Tower and its breath-taking view of Verona. And from so high up we can also go down 40 metres below sea level with Akènta Sub, the official off-show wine aged in special underwater barrels off the coast of Alghero (Sardinia).

Vinitaly and the City will help you recognise a sparkling wine without even tasting but simply by “listening to it” thanks to the presentation of the special method based on the sound of bubbles in the glass devised by Tommaso Caporale.

During the four-day event, wine is not only tasted but also explained by wine talks ensuring space for debate and discussion between the public at large and producers.

There are even literary moments, with presentations of food and wine books with their authors: Roberto Valbuzzi, chef and TV personality of “Cortesie per gli ospiti”, Joe Bastianich, Tiziano Gaia and Edoardo Franco, the recent winner of MasterChef Italy 2023.

On another level, Italy’s great poet Dante Alighieri, who spent a period of his exile in Verona, is the protagonist of the exhibition based on the Song of Forgiveness in Purgatory curated by Franco Nembrini.

And this year, the event also reveals its rock soul with the launch of the Vinitaly and the City wine guitar made with wood from chestnut barrels by Fabrizio Paoletti,  the lute-maker who has also made guitars for stars such as Bruce Springsteen, Keith Richards and Joe Walsh.

A toast to Vinitaly and The City 2023.

As Federico Bricolo, President of VeronaFiere, said: “Vinitaly is a huge opportunity for Verona just as Verona is also a huge opportunity for Vinitaly thanks to the off-show event and this year’s four-day calendar ranging from art to culture and music through to wine as the central theme of the entire event. A strong and symbiotic bond between the exhibition centre and the city,” President Bricolo concluded, “which we intend to strengthen even further through quality projects such as Vinitaly and the City and its capacity for involving local institutions, local people, wine enthusiasts and tourists.”

“Verona ensures added value for our exhibitors and professional operators that amplifies the business vocation of the main show,” said the Managing Director of Veronafiere, Maurizio Danese. “We are keen to strengthen this vocation even further by highlighting the different targets for Vinitaly and Vinitaly and the City, which this year returns under our own organisational direction. Verona is an extraordinary international stage that Veronafiere helps enhance not the least through the media visibility that Vinitaly generates every year both in Italy and abroad.”

Vinitaly and the City is organised by Veronafiere in collaboration with Verona City Council, the Province of Verona and the Cariverona Foundation, alongside partnerships with Volkswagen, Banca Passadore, Amia and Trenitalia.