SaporBio 2009 has come to Milan and is therefore now officially Milano SaporBio, an event which is going on right now. After two years in Versilia this year the event has moved to Lombardy, the region which will host Expò in 2015. It has been even more varied and participatory than last year with three days of organic flavours and environmentally sustainable well-being.

Put together in partnership with Parco in Comune, supported by the Milan Design, City Cleanliness and Public Parks Department, from the 12th to the 14th of June, Milano SaporBio's venue was Parco Sempione for a weekend of music, performances, tastings and fun for both the people of Milan and tourists.

A weekend in the city can still be unexpected and successful when its ingredients are nature, fun and flavour.

Parco Sempione, the lungs of the city, is an ideal venue for an event aiming to raise awareness of the organic and eco-sustainability world. A full programme of appointments included display stands and tastings, fun educational activities for children and debates and discussions on organic and eco-sustainability politics with professors and sector experts.

The Organic and Environmentally-friendly Village was an opportunity for those working in the sector to promote, display and sell their products and services in an exchange of culinary and wine culture and environmental awareness with visitors. The general public came into contact with the philosophy which inspires the organic and eco-sustainability world.

The book "Buonappetitomilano2009" by Riccardo Naj-Oleari, a guide to the most famous eating places in Milan, was presented to the public. There were tastings of some of Italy's best wine and food with the best organic ingredients cooked by chef Marco De Vincentis in original recipes bringing together tradition and innovation.

There was also a children's space for fun educational activities on the themes of natural diet and respect for the environment in our daily routines. "Marco Columbro and co.", the return of the "Dear Teacher" put the well-known Italian showman behind the teacher's desk to teach children how to love nature and themselves with a healthy, balanced diet.

The conference area was the place to find out more about organic products, differences between organic and conventional products and the risks to our health. The themes of the event were ecology and the environment, how to make our own lives eco-sustainable within the home, in the details of our daily lives, in our children's health and well-being and in our diets.

Milano SaporBio does good work for others, too! Bio does us good and helps the children of Cambodia too. CIAI (Centro Italiano Aiuti per l'Infanzia) children's charity volunteers had a stand in Parco Sempione and showed us how to bring together ethical behaviour and respect for the environment.
The young artists of The Bag Art Factory put on a live painting performance during the event, producing a series of works which were then sold at auction.
The profits were donated to the Siem Reap Art School, one of the projects which Marco Columbro's CIAI sponsors.