Food Heritage-making between the Alps and the Adriatic

The last, third number of the 49th volume of Traditiones, the journal of the Institute of Slovenian Ethnology and Ethnography and Institute of Ethnomusicology, appeared on the eve of the year 2021. The year in which Slovenia will be the holder of the title of European region of Gastronomy is being introduced with the thematic section Food Heritage-making between the Alps and the Adriatic. Edited by Špela Ledinek Lozej and Katarina Šrimpf Vendramin, the section brings four articles, based on papers presented at an international conference at the University of Udine (Italy). It explores various aspects of food heritage and its heritage-making: from overlapping with and differing from other qualification mechanisms, such as certification and branding, and incorporating heritage into marketing and tourism, to the bases for defining the differences between heritagization and other forms of appropriating the past. Based on the case studies of four Adriatic fish, Nataša Rogelja Caf, Alenka Janko Spreizer and Martina Bofulin place different forms of selection of the past (i.e., remembering, heritagization, and past presencing) against the local special features or everyday dispositions of coexisting with the past (defined as undigested histories, blurring, and distancing). Špela Ledinek Lozej writes about the branding of Tolmin cheese and Maja Godina Golija of the Upper Savinja Valley Stomach Sausage. The role of heritage in shaping the tourist offer and recognition of the area is presented the article “Between Traditions and Innovations” by Maja Topole and Primož Pipan. Enjoy reading!