Florence, 9 December 2025. The press conference for CASTANEA EXPO 2025, the first national fair dedicated to the chestnut supply chain and the future prospects of chestnut cultivation, was held this morning at Villa Vittoria. The event, scheduled at the Fortezza da Basso from 12 to 14 December, was presented by Lorenzo Becattini, President of Firenze Fiera; Eugenio Giani, President of the Tuscany Region; Giuseppe Salvini, Secretary General of the Florence Chamber of Commerce; and Massimo Seragnoli, Project Manager of Castanea Expo.

An event that begins with strong expectations from institutions, territorial and research bodies, consortia, producers, processing companies, and tourism operators, all called for the first time to engage in dialogue on a sector currently experiencing a phase of strong relaunch. This is also due to the excellent 2025 harvest, which ranks among the most abundant in the last decade, with over 55,000 tonnes produced in Italy and a 40% increase in Tuscany compared to the previous season.

“CASTANEA EXPO 2025 represents for Firenze Fiera not only a new in-house event, but also an economic and cultural challenge that aims to enhance one of the oldest and most distinctive supply chains of our Country and of Tuscany,” said President Becattini. “The fair – he continued – welcomes among its exhibitors the MASAF and the Tuscany Region, which at the end of the previous legislature established the Tuscan Chestnut District: a very significant initiative, in line with what President Giani often calls ‘widespread Tuscany’. Our region, the second national powerhouse in the sector after Campania, has carried out remarkable work, and it is right to give value to it during these three days of events, which will also include, on 13 December, the General Assembly of the Chestnut Sector. I thank all public and private partners who made this first edition possible, and I wish exhibitors, partners, and visitors a fair rich in content and new perspectives.”

“We are in the heart of autumn,” said Tuscany Region President Eugenio Giani, “a season that for Tuscany represents the time of the chestnut. This is why we are enthusiastic about launching Castanea Expo 2025, an initiative that aims to promote a fruit that nourished entire generations in the past and that today features in high-quality gastronomy, from marron glacé to a wide range of other products. Chestnuts are increasingly appreciated internationally, pushing many European and non-European countries to expand chestnut cultivation. Since we have them naturally, we must not only protect them but relaunch them as one of the pillars of our agriculture. We are proud to host this event, which enriches the range of fairs and initiatives that Firenze Fiera has long been promoting at the Fortezza da Basso.”

“Tuscany,” added Giuseppe Salvini, Secretary General of the Florence Chamber of Commerce, “is Italy’s leading region for designations of origin: 90 in total, 58 relating to wine and 38 to food, among which 5 concern chestnut production directly. A true treasure of high-quality products. PDO and PGI are not mere acronyms, but designations that certify a product’s excellence and value. Our region is therefore a heritage of quality products and celebrates this broad and long-established production linked to chestnuts. A snapshot of this excellence will be showcased at the stand set up by the Chamber of Commerce of Florence together with PromoFirenze. I thank Firenze Fiera and we are pleased to stand alongside them for this important event.”

“Chestnut cultivation represents a true resource for Italy. In the 2,457 mountain municipalities, chestnut growing is present throughout the territory. All regions have important chestnut districts, and from this reality a mosaic of experiences has emerged in which humans have lived in harmony with the chestnut tree,” said Massimo Seragnoli, Project Manager of CASTANEA EXPO 2025. “The fair’s programme is very extensive: over 70 events including conferences, talks and technical presentations. The goal is for the event to become a reference point for networking, especially at a time when the CAP is being defined and the chestnut sector must find its European dimension. The role of the fair is therefore to strengthen, economically and socially, all the sector’s players, and this is precisely what Castanea Expo aims to achieve.”

The event, promoted and organised by Firenze Fiera, benefits from the high patronage of the European Parliament and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests, alongside several other major institutions and organisations: Tuscany Region, City of Florence, Florence Chamber of Commerce, University of Florence, ANCI Toscana, Municipality of Sant’Alfio, Vetrina Toscana, Legacoop Agroalimentare, Confcooperative Toscana, Eurocastanea (European Chestnut Network), Slow Food Italy, UNCEM, AGCI Toscana, RENAIA (National Network of Hotel and Catering Institutes) and RENISA (National Network of Agricultural Institutes).

The Italian Trade Agency (ICE) will be present on Saturday, 13 December, with an information desk available to companies.

Seventy-five exhibitors will be hosted across more than 4,000 square metres. The fair will feature exhibitions, conferences, workshops, training sessions, tastings, show cooking, and showcases of chestnut beers and honeys, as well as previews of chestnut flours. The aim is to highlight a strategic sector for many of Italy’s mountain and inland areas, now receiving renewed attention in terms of sustainability, biodiversity and territorial regeneration. A full immersion into tradition and innovation, ancient knowledge and new technologies, including nutraceutical products, new nature trails and tourist maps across the hills and mountain ridges of various regions. Spotlights will be on chestnut cultivation, its many health benefits, the fascination of monumental chestnut trees – true living monuments, bearers of the history of entire generations, rural cultures and biodiversity – central to the economic development of inland areas.

On 13 December at 11:30 a.m., the General Assembly of Chestnut Cultivation will take place in the MASAF area: a meeting dedicated to presenting the strategic lines of the new national chestnut sector plan, chaired by Undersecretary of State Senator La Pietra, and including updated ISMEA data on the sector.

Thanks to the collaboration with the Centre for the Study and Documentation of the Chestnut of Marradi, visitors will be able to explore, in the “Armeria” area, several exhibitions offering a full immersion into the culture of the chestnut: visual narratives fostering awareness and memory, and passing down to new generations the richness of an age-old tradition and its strategic role for the future of the territories.

A highlight will be the exhibition “Discovering Monumental Chestnut Trees and Historic Chestnut Groves in Italy”, an illustrated journey through some of the country’s most remarkable monumental chestnut trees, along with “Pomological Germplasm of the Chestnut in Italy”, showcasing about 80 varieties from the main Italian production regions.

During the opening ceremony, scheduled at the Teatrino Lorenese on Friday 12 December at 11:00 a.m., Ugo de Vita (Italian author, actor and voice actor) will read selected literary passages by internationally renowned authors on the theme of the chestnut, including works by poet Dino Campana, born in Marradi, the Tuscan town famous for its “marron buono”.