Italy prides itself on being a culinary mecca, where preparing, cooking and serving meals is a fine, even sacred, art. So, not surprising announcement of opening a theme park dedicated to food and wine aimed at creating jobs and spurring economic activity. Eataly, the Italian food-emporium chain, and the municipality of Bologna will develop “Fico Eataly World,” a theme park devoted entirely to food and wine. Described as a Disneyland of food, will sit on more than 86,000 square feet of land provided by Bologna’s Centro Agroalimentare and will include restaurants, grocery stores, food labs and an aquarium.
The organizers hope to host seminars, offer culinary classes and provide certified training for all sectors of the food industry. “We will produce wine, grains, vegetables and other foods of the earth and serve them in the restaurants and sell them in the grocery stores,” said Eataly CEO Oscar Farinatti.
The price tag for the park is estimated at $55 million. “Fico Eataly World” has a planned opening date of November 1, 2015 and is expected to attract as many as 10 million guests a year.
