20 acres of food outside Bologna

Where else but in Bologna would someone build a 20acre park devoted to Italian food?

Set to open in September, the new $106 million Eataly World will be the world’s largest agri-food park, a sprawling complex of orchards, gardens and pastures, as well as six virtual reality experiences and 40 workshops in classrooms and theaters. The park, a project of upmarket Italian food emporium Eataly, is intended to reveal the secrets of Italy’s time-held culinary methods and traditions “from the field to the fork.”

“Bologna and the EmiliaRomagna region have long been considered the cradle of Italy’s immense food and wine culture,” says Tiziana Primori, Eataly World’s CEO. Bologna’s prime location, she says, is ideally placed to “offer a taste of the whole country from Piedmont to Sicily.”

Eataly World will offer visitors a start-to-finish insight into everything from beer and wine production to cheese making and prosciutto dry-curing. Visitors will also be able to watch wheat being stone-ground into flour and whipped into different types of pasta. They can then enjoy the finished product from a choice of 40 different restaurants and stalls.

Of the 2,000 producers and businesses involved in Eataly World, more than 30 percent are small artisanal companies, according to Primori, including Bolognese fresh pasta innovators SfogliAmo, 16th century Calabrian licorice producers Amarelli, and 17th century Abruzzo sugared almond makers William di Carlo.

Visitors can expect to zip around the complex via tricycles, specially designed by Italian bicycle designer Bianchi, that come with shopping baskets. There are also plans for a 200-room hotel within the grounds, slated to open in 2018.

Officials expect to attract 6 million visitors per year. Admission will be free.