Ritsumeikan University College of Gastronomy Management Signs Cooperation Agreement with Fondazione Casa Artusi in Italy

On September 7, 2026, the College of Gastronomy Management at Ritsumeikan University signed a cooperation agreement with Fondazione Casa Artusi, a foundation dedicated to food culture located in Forlimpopoli, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.

↑Dean Masayoshi Ishida (left) and Prof. Andrea Segrè (right) signing the cooperation agreement

The signing ceremony was held at Casa Artusi, where Andrea Segrè, President of Fondazione Casa Artusi, and Masayoshi Ishida, Dean of the College of Gastronomy Management, signed the agreement.

↑Participants at the signing ceremony

↑Commemorative photo following the signing ceremony

The ceremony was attended by Prof. Massimo Montanari, Professor Emeritus of the University of Bologna and a world-renowned scholar of food history, as well as Milena Garavini, Mayor of the Municipality of Forlimpopoli, Renzo Armuzzi, Director of the Emilia-Romagna Department of Agriculture,representatives of the Emilia-Romagna Region, and others. Twenty students from the College of Gastronomy Management who were participating in an overseas training program also attended the ceremony and visited the facilities of Casa Artusi.

Casa Artusi is a food culture foundation established in Forlimpopoli, the birthplace of Pellegrino Artusi, widely regarded as the father of modern Italian cuisine. The foundation carries on Artusi's ideas and achievements and promotes education, research, and cultural outreach related to Italian food culture and gastronomy. When Italian cuisine was inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List in December 2025, Casa Artusi made a significant contribution as one of the organizations involved in the proposal for its inscription.

The cooperation agreement aims to promote education, research, and cultural exchange in the fields of gastronomy, food culture, food history, and food cultural heritage. Future initiatives are expected to include student and faculty exchanges, joint research and publications on Italian and Japanese food cultures, and the joint organization of lectures, symposia, and other events.

The agreement will also enable the College to utilize Casa Artusi's specialized knowledge and resources related to food culture, deepen understanding of Italian food culture, and further advance education and research in gastronomy.