Slow Food presidia in Italy: 402 in 2026

The Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity's database lists 402¹ presidia in Italy out of 696¹ worldwide, counted on September 1, 2026, so more than half of all presidia are Italian.

402 in Italy, 696 in the world

Both numbers are database counts, not published totals: 402¹ results with the country filter on Italy, 696¹ with no filter, read on September 1, 2026.

A count like that moves. It can include presidia that have since been archived, and it won't be the same next year, so it belongs next to its date every time it's quoted.

Why the foundation's own page says 600

The foundation's editorial page describes the project as some 600¹ presidia in 70 countries, and it gives no year for that figure.

The round number and the database count sit on the same website and don't agree. Treat the 600¹ as an order of magnitude, and use 402¹ and 696¹, with the date, when you need an actual count.

A presidio is not an EU label

A presidio is a project of the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity; DOP, IGP and STG are registrations under EU law. Italy has 334³ registered food names in 2026: 174³ DOP, 156³ IGP and 4 STG.

The comparison is lopsided in a useful way. The database holds more Italian presidia, 402¹, than Italy has registered food names, and the two lists are compiled by different bodies for different purposes.

So one list says nothing about the other. A product on the Slow Food list has no EU registration because of it, and a DOP cheese is not a presidio because it's protected.

What the count can't tell you

No breakdown by region is published for the 402¹ Italian presidia in our sources, so this page can't say how many sit in Piedmont or in Sicily.

It also can't tell you which ones welcome visitors. Nothing in a database count says who you can visit, or when.

Using the list on a trip

The database that returned 402¹ Italian results on September 1, 2026 is also where to search for a product or a village before you go. Look at each entry's status, since archived presidia can still turn up in a search, and contact the producers named there directly.

For the wider count of protected names, see DOP and IGP in Italy and the four recipes on Italy's STG. For how the number was built, see 402 Slow Food presidia.

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