From Food to Religion: Two Case Studies in the South of Italy

This research aims to understand the connection between food and religious events and how they have become a focus of new tourist routes in the ‘year of the restart’, a time period marked by the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. The combination of religion and food seems to be successful in attracting tourists in the new scenarios created by the pandemic. The research aims to examine the potential for combining religious tourism with local food to enhance the attractiveness and competitiveness of destinations, using two case studies from Saint Aghata in Catania and Saint Nicholas in Bari, Italy. The findings of the study suggest that food is an important aspect of religious events, it plays a role in the expression of cultural identity, and the support of local economies. This study adds to the existing literature on food and religious events, and it offers insights into the complex relationship between food, faith, and tourism.