What did Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone sip after the seven-minute standing ovation at the premiere of Bugonia? How many pizzas did journalists devour while waiting—in vain—for George Clooney at the press conference for Jay Kelly, co-starring Adam Sandler? And what aperitivo do Venice’s biggest stars pair with their gondola-side sunsets?
The answers barely matter. What does matter is that we are in Italy, where every activity—grand or mundane—revolves around food. The 82nd Venice Film Festival is no exception.
REUTERS/Remo Casilli
Chefs, sommeliers, pizzaioli, pastry chefs, winemakers, producers, and farmers pull out all the stops to offer stars—and the global audience watching—Italy’s finest. Even a bespoke festival wine has been crafted: Prosecco Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG, serving as the official wine for a second year. It flows freely at opening and closing dinners, receptions, and at the Terrazza Biennale and Palazzo del Casinò restaurants.
REUTERS/Yara Nardi
This year’s collectible label, La Compagnia delle Stelle, evokes the festival’s cast: gondoliers, cameras, movie stars, and sparkling bubbles in a design inspired by Venice itself. And in a digital twist, visitors can scan a QR code to place a giant Prosecco bottle in their photos via augmented reality—the most creative snaps naturally trending on festival social media.
REUTERS/Remo Casilli
Food, of course, is center stage. Tino Vetorello, the festival’s long-time culinary maestro, crafts menus for the Palazzo del Casinò and Terrazza Biennale. His cuisine celebrates the lagoon’s freshness and Venice’s seasonal bounty: fish, seafood, and vegetables, paired in light compositions perfectly suited to the festival’s rhythm.
Italian gastronomy even made it to the big screen this year with Giuseppe Carrieri’s documentary La Quinta Stagione, spotlighting five women who have shaped Italy’s culinary scene: Caterina Ceraudo, Martina Caruso, Valeria Piccini, Antonia Klugmann, and Christina Bauer.
REUTERS/Remo Casilli TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Each tells a story of tradition, innovation, and the intimate connection between food, identity, and place—Ceraudo’s Calabrian roots, Caruso’s island life, Piccini’s family memories, Klugmann’s seasonal philosophy, and Bauerman’s global dialogue—all narrated with cohesion by Isabella Ragonese.
REUTERS/Yara Nardi
The result is a portrait of Italy through its cuisine: a reminder that food is not just nourishment but a mirror of culture, history, and creativity—celebrated as vibrantly on the plate as it is on the red carpet.
Sources: winenews.it, Forbes Italia
