The Swiss initiative was much appreciated by the local Milanese and by tourists visiting the city. The Swiss presence at one of the most visited sites in all of Milan – Sforza Castle – hit the mark. Presence Switzerland provided an open and convivial platform for communication around food – the theme of Expo 2015 – but also other subjects of importance to Switzerland like rural life, transport, innovation and tourism.
The private and public partners of the Swiss pavilion enriched the gastronomic and cultural programme.

"Seeing the mayor of Milan cutting into a Swiss cheese as a symbolic way of inaugurating the Giro del gusto here in this House of Switzerland with its contemporary architecture is quite something: our country is on to a winner in Italy!" enthuses Nicolas Bideau, head of Presence Switzerland. "The 60,000 people who took part in the AOP tastings are proof of our success: the Italians love Swiss produce and have shown they're keen to get to know their neighbour better. And while our Italian friends were enjoying our Swiss cheese and sausage, they were also captivated by our new Gotthard tunnel and our design 'made in Switzerland'. Tradition AND innovation rolled into one: Swiss style!"

Next stages of the Giro del gusto:
- -Rome (Swiss Institute in Rome): 22–26 September
- -Turin (Salone Internazionale del Gusto): 23–27 October

Key figures:
Number of visitors: 60,000
Number of visitors who saw the Swiss village: 180,000
Number of meals served: 18,000
including 1,500 sausages, 2,500 portions of raclette and 1,000 sausage panini
Number of articles published in Italy on the Giro del gusto: 110, with a market value of CHF 415,000
Number of posts on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, www.padiglionesvizzero.ch): 2 million

For further information:

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
Ambassador
Nicolas Bideau
Head of Presence Switzerland
nicolas.bideau@eda.admin.ch
Tel.: +41 79 667 69 15

Andrea Arcidiacono
Head of Italy Programme/Expo 2015
Presence Switzerland
andrea.arcidiacono@eda.admin.ch
Tel.: + 39 02 777 91 646 / + 39 366 11 83 793

Twitter: #girodelgusto, #abbattiamolemontagne

Giro del gusto: Milan enjoys a taste of Switzerland