In our brand, “Academia” is written with just one c, as opposed to the Italian spelling of “Accademia.” This is no mistake. We derive the name of our company from the Latin word academia, which signifies a place dedicated to the arts, culture, and the diffusion of knowledge, a term that comes from the Greek school founded by the philosopher Plato.

Barilla chose this word deliberately to recall the classic definition of Academia and to convey the idea that gastronomy is not mechanical (consisting simply of cutting, cooking, and mixing), but is cultural. The diversity in a country’s cuisine does not exist solely in a list of recipes, but is represented in the identities of a country and her people, including both extraordinary cuisine and downright strange customs to an outsider. A place’s cuisine exists in the memories of a people, in those who have passed along the knowledge and wisdom for centuries in the preparation of food, transforming oftentimes “poor” or marginal ingredients into masterpieces of taste and good health.