Backpacking with comfortable shoes and the will to walk. On the National Trails Year proclaimed by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, a group of young startups, connected to the polytechnic institute of Milan, walked more than 220 km in just 9 days from Milan to Genoa for a gastronomical walk. Food by foot may not be a real spiritual pilgrim, but certainly is a good and healthy occasion out in the open to get to know and discover all the nice and good things our country offers. Creators are at the same time in front of the starting line: young people of Menuale, search engine for restaurants, Easy Gov, digital connection system with public administration, Find Your Italy, an online travel agency and Friendz, a new digital PR reality. Young itinerants were recharged with coffee, the one of Moak, which supports Food by Foot. “When it is about startup projects explains Annalisa Spadola, Caffè Moak Marketing Director that think up and suggest good ideas, we cannot but share them. Food by Foot has been an occasion to get to know and become acquainted with good food and good drinks of our area, and Italian coffee is surely part of our heritage”.
To celebrate Italy’s Republic Day on June 2nd, participants woke up early in the morning and got together at the dock in Milan to leave for the long walk in search of the food and wine cultures of three Italian regions: Lombardy, Piedmont and Liguria. The trail was not always easy, but full of excitement: tarred and dirt roads, between the woods, in the mountains, reaching an elevation of 1,600 metres on the peak of mount Antola. Some slept in a sleeping bag under the stars, while others didn’t want to do without a comfortable bed. The awaited end-of-day stop pleasantly compensated for everyone’s strain of the walk: a good and tasty dinner in typical restaurants. Last stage of Food by Foot was the cliff of Quarto in Genoa. Dressed in red to pay homage to the history of Italy, they put down their shoes and sleeping bags, but brought along a suitcase full of experience, emotions and memories of a beautiful journey.
