The potatoes of Otro: the reconstitution of an element of the Walser food heritage in NW Italy

Abstract

Abstract The article analyzes the trajectory of the reconstitution of the gastronomic heritage among the Italian Walser community. It focuses on the case study of potato production in the Otro Valley, in Alagna Valsesia (VC), and explores how the process of heritagization linked to these products allowed the community to reconstitute a trait of their biocultural diversity lost during the twentieth century. In so doing, it offers details about the gastronomy of potatoes among the Walser and shows that food heritagization is not always coupled with the commodification of local heritage products, but rather can foster processes of reappropriation of a traditional gastronomy.

Keywords

• Potato
• Walser
• Italy
• Alps
• Heritagization