Studies Centre

Founded by the then President, Franco Marenghi, and named after him after his death, the Studies Centre represents the Accademia's "observatory", which by means of this instrument scrutinises, observes, registers, elaborates, and works with the issues which the panorama of Italian culture, not only gastronomical, presents.

It is the task of the Studies Centre, in fact, to detect new tendencies, even when they are not yet perceptible to the common eye - for instance, think about the document from 1993, entitled "Il rischio Europa" ("The risk Europe"), where there was already talks of globalisation - thus offering the Accademia the possibility to analyse an emerging problem.

Also, the Centre photographs the gastronomical panorama at a given moment in time in order to investigate its evolutions compared to the past and to advance forecasts and suggestions for the future. Here one might think of another important document, edited by the Studies Centre, on "Educazione al gusto nelle scuole" ("Taste education in schools"), which includes indications for the competent authorities regarding the educational importance of gastronomical culture already from a young age. Such is the case in France, where gastronomical culture has already become a scholastic subject.

Furthermore, the Studies Centre elaborates an annual document analysing the condition of Italian cuisine, focusing on the opportunities for the preservation of traditions or for the warranty of alimentary safety, or underlining the risks of extinction run by certain typical products due to new norms or falsifications and counterfeits.