His Royal Highness's official visit to Italy as part of the autumn tour highlighted the close partnership between the UK and Italy, focusing on food and farming, conservation and the built environment

Food and Farming

Food and farming was one of the key themes of the visit to Italy and the main event was the Slow Food Movement's Salone del Gusto, or Hall of Taste, reputed to be the world's largest food and wine show, held in Turin every other year. The show is a large-scale international food market where producers display and sell their goods and visitors can participate in tastings, debates and workshops. The Prince toured the exhibition, visiting Italian regional stands and meeting Slow Food representatives. The Prince also visited the

HRH The Prince of Wales at the British Pavillion, Salone del Gusto
British Food Pavilion where more than 50 producers from England, Scotland and Wales demonstrated the quality and diversity of food and drink available across the UK. The British Pavilion had been organised by Food From Britain (FFB) and Slow Food UK, in partnership with Scottish Development International (SDI), Highlands & Islands Enterprise (HIE) and the Welsh Development Agency (WDA)

The Prince also attended other events in connection with Salone del Gusto, including a food workshop which discussed the merits of British Pedigree and Rare Breeds, and a Food From Britain reception

The organiser of the event, the Slow Food Movement, works internationally to promote biodiversity, sustainable farming and food production worldwide. For the first time Slow Food was holding another event, Terra Madre (Mother Earth) World meeting of food communities, which brought together some 5,000 farmers and food producers from 132 countries. The purpose of the meeting was to explore new and different ways of food production, an approach attentive to environmental resources, product quality and consumer health. The Prince made a speech as part of the concluding session of the conference before joining a Terra Madre reception to meet key Slow Food representatives and delegates from the British farming community

The Prince also visited the Piedmont countryside, where he saw agriculture and viniculture in practice.

British and Italian Partnership

As well as encouraging the exchange of ideas between both nations through food and agriculture, the tour emphasised other strong links between Britain and Italy. This involved viewing the site for the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics and hearing about a joint building project involving British designers and engineers in the Olympic speed skating arena

The Prince also met senior officials including the Ministers for Agriculture and Culture, with whom he discussed Italian efforts to protect the natural environment, and Dr Enzo Ghigo, President of the Piedmont Region

The Built Environment

His Royal Highness visited the Lingotto complex, a major regeneration through heritage project, which transformed Turin's derelict former FIAT factory into a thriving exhibition centre, shopping area, hotel and arts complex. The Prince had seen plans for the project during his last visit to Turin in 1992, and now he met senior representatives from FIAT to discuss the results of the regeneration project

The Prince also visited the restored Agenzia di Pollenzo complex. The former castle, once the retreat of King Vittorio Emmanuele II, now houses the brand-new University of Gastronomic Sciences and one of Italy's best wine banks. The Prince toured the building and learnt about the restoration work and the activities of the University, and chatted with some of the students.

This was the Prince's first official visit to Italy since his November 2002 tour of Florence, Rome and Naples, and the first time he has returned to Turin since 1992.