Montichiari, the art of living in the countryside

Appointment in Montichiari (Brescia) for all the fans of vegetable gardens and gardens from March 18 to 20, for the sixth edition of the event Vita in Campagna. Among this year's new issues, a salon dedicated to multifunctionality, which stands side by side with the ones dedicated to the management of rural houses and to typical products. Over 100 free classes on "green activities" are being scheduled. The event will be attended by many machinery manufacturers for agriculture and gardening

In the spring of last year, Coldiretti evaluated that with the arrival of the good season over 20 million Italians would have started to work in vegetable gardens, gardens and DIY terraced gardens, and that in the same period in our towns the space dedicated to public vegetable gardens managed by citizens individually or in groups, had reached the total share of 3.3 million square meters.  A real people of “hobby farmers”, to whom for six years now, the publishing house L’Informatore Agrario with its cutting-edge magazine Vita in Campagna (Life in the Countryside) has dedicated the trade fair of the same name, that this year is scheduled from March 18 to 20 at the Exhibition Centre of Montichiari, in the province of Brescia.  Among the main changes of this edition are the extension of the exhibiting area - passed from 30 to 35,000 square meters - and the creation of a new hall in pavilion 2, dedicated to multifunctionality. The new area, organized as other events in exhibition halls with stands and training areas, widely displays the initiatives of farmers in the field of agriculture in order to integrate their income and promote activities and good uses for the development of territory and traditions. Beside holiday farms, are in constant growth educational and social farms, kindergartens, cosmetics and breweries with an eye to agriculture. In this context, will be also displayed new equipment for small scale olive oil mills and cheese factories. A section of the main hall will be dedicated to aromatic, medicinal, food and cosmetic plants from the various Italian geographic areas - to be rediscovered and promoted also as a source of income - with workshops dedicated to plant identification, gathering and practical uses. The halls dedicated to “La casa in campagna” (The house in the countryside) and “Prodotti tipici & Territorio” (Typical products & Territory), hosted respectively in pavilions 7 and 8, have been confirmed. The first hall has as its central theme the building and managing of the modern rural house, with specialized stands dedicated to green building industry, water purification, stoves and fireplaces, furniture, antiques and pottery. In this area are scheduled creative courses and workshops on property renovation, restoration and energy efficiency, and still maintenance and decoration, as well as technical workshops and cooking classes.  Every day several painters will execute still life paintings with countryside and its fruits as main subjects.  The other salon, called “Salone d’Origine” will be assigned to typical agri-food products of quality and their areas of origin. Inside of it, it will be possible to know, taste and purchase wine and food treasures coming from the various Italian regions and attend workshops, held by the manufacturing companies, concerning products on display and processing techniques.   Besides the tastings, is also scheduled a cooking-show, with 400 members of the Italian Federation of Cooks, involved in a competition which is going to award the chef and kitchen team able to use, as best as they can, the typical products in both traditional and innovative recipes. The opportunity to attend over 100 free of charge courses, classes, meetings and conferences held by experts of the sectors on the above mentioned themes and the most efficient techniques for the management of gardens, bee-keeping activities, vineyards, orchards and vegetable gardens, still remains one of the strong points of the event.  The training events organized by the promoters of the exhibition will take place in an authentic small farm, where the main agricultural activities will be simulated and in the halls at the second floor of the Congress Centre (Pav. 5). Among the 180 brands exhibiting at the event, are many manufacturers of machines for agriculture and gardening, offering to visitors - 45,000 in the previous edition - their most recent productions. FederUnacoma and its association of machinery manufacturers for gardening Comagarden will attend the event with an institutional area and in the afternoon of the inaugural day of the trade fair will illustrate, during the press-conference, the last data on the market trend of the sector, as well as the next edition of EimaGreen, the event dedicated to the mechanization for the management of green areas, within Eima International 2016.