Degusto: Where Calabria rediscovers itself

DeGusto 2025 unfolded as a celebration of Calabria’s soulful food identity and the determination of one of its founders, Salvatore Corsaro. From a publishing background to a gastronomic revolution, Corsaro’s journey reveals how passion, resilience, and community have shaped the region’s most influential culinary event.

What happens when a man who once lived among ink, paper, and photographs decides to listen to the heartbeat of a territory? Sometimes, it creates a movement. This is what DeGusto has become in Calabria: not merely an expo, but an emotional gathering where producers, chefs, visitors, and dreamers meet. And at the centre of it all stands Salvatore Corsaro, a man whose curiosity and courage have shifted the cultural and economic energy of an entire region.

Corsaro did not arrive in the world of food from the expected door. He grew up professionally in publishing—first in advertising, then as an editor and creator of magazines ahead of their time. He recalls with a smile that he launched the first photographic real-estate classified magazine “before the internet even knew what it wanted to be.” Later came Sì – Magazine degli Sposi, a wedding magazine that blossomed into Calabria’s earliest large-scale wedding fairs. Yet when the wedding industry began to fade, he sensed a deeper calling. “Food doesn’t decline,” he says. “Food is the most ancient language we have.” That intuition would become the seed of DeGusto.

The idea matured during the strange quiet of the pandemic. While so many sectors paused or collapsed, Corsaro noticed that the emotional and cultural power of food remained unshaken. In 2021 he launched the first edition of DeGusto with only thirty-four companies, expecting a modest experiment. Instead, buyers from abroad appeared unexpectedly, almost as if they were drawn by instinct. That moment revealed something: Calabria had a story the world wanted to hear. The following year the number of exhibitors nearly tripled, and the event expanded beyond its original form, adding cooking demonstrations, cultural dialogues, and encounters that intertwined traditions, ideas, and people. 

In 2025 DeGusto moved into a larger exhibition centre in Catanzaro, with over 130 companies showcasing their products and finally giving the event the breathing space it needed.

What makes the success of DeGusto extraordinary is that it is entirely self-funded. No institutional grants, no corporate sponsorships—just trust and participation from the companies that choose to be part of it. Each edition demands around 80,000 to 100,000 euros of internal investment: water and plumbing installations for professional kitchens, layout redesigns, technical services, audiovisual setups, meticulous cleaning, and all the invisible mechanisms that make an event feel effortless to visitors. Corsaro speaks of these costs without complaint. “Quality comes first, always,” he says. “If the exhibitors are happy, if the public returns, then we have succeeded.” And the city feels the effect. Hotels fill during a normally slow season, restaurants thrive, and Catanzaro hums with movement and energy.

Yet growth never arrives without challenges. This year, more than thirty companies were turned away simply because there was no more space available. Foreign exhibitors—from Spain and beyond—asked to participate, but the team chose to wait. “We won’t open internationally until we are sure we can offer excellence,” Corsaro explains. Infrastructure remains a pressing issue: despite large spaces and an apparent readiness to host major events, significant shortcomings persist, especially for food and wine events that require cooking shows and tasting areas. But for Corsaro, every obstacle becomes a lesson. “Mistakes are part of the journey. What matters is learning and always finding a solution.”

The 2025 edition also brought beautiful results. Many companies reported new business connections, unexpected orders, and meaningful conversations with buyers. Visitors discovered local products they had never encountered before, while chefs turned humble ingredients into ephemeral forms of art. Journalists and observers from across Italy arrived to witness what Calabria could offer. Perhaps the most touching outcome, though, was watching local producers meet each other, recognizing pieces of themselves in neighbours’ stories and imagining collaborations that might shape the region’s future.

As DeGusto grows, so does its dream. The current venue is already too small, and discussions about expansion have begun. There is hope for stronger collaboration with local authorities, especially to enhance the infrastructure around the exhibition area. But more than anything, there is a determination to stay faithful to the soul of the event. “We don’t want to become bigger just for the sake of it,” Corsaro says. “We want to become better.”

And as he speaks, there is a softness in his voice—something between gratitude and quiet ambition. That is the essence of DeGusto: a gathering that feels as though Calabria itself is speaking, not through formalities but through aromas, stories, and the warmth of shared humanity. It is a place where the region rediscovers its identity, not as a distant echo but as a living, breathing presence. And if the future of DeGusto is anything like its present, then Calabria’s voice will only grow stronger—steady, sincere, and irresistibly full of flavour.