• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Arts & Entertainment

Inside Eataly’s $106 Million Theme Park

By
Gillie Houston
Gillie Houston
and
Food & Wine
Food & Wine
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Gillie Houston
Gillie Houston
and
Food & Wine
Food & Wine
Down Arrow Button Icon
November 25, 2016, 8:00 PM ET
Courtesy of FICO Eataly World

This article originally appeared on Food+Wine.

Eataly, a brand known for their Italian marketplaces around the world, has recently revealed their most ambitious undertaking yet: A massive, 20-acre complex they’re calling “FICO Eataly World.”

FICO, which stands for Fabbrica Italiana Contadina—or, Italian Farming Factory—represents Eataly’s vision for the space, which will be a hub for production, education, and consumerism within one 80,000 square-meter theme park located in Bologna, Italy. The park, according to their vision statement, will be “a place where values are produced, even before produce and products,” and encapsulate Italian cuisine “from the seed to its final shape.”

Within the park grounds, visitors will be able to explore 25 different restaurants and food stalls contained within the 9,000 square-meter market area, as well as see agriculture in progress at the complex’s 10,000 square-meters of pastures, gardens, and orchards.

In addition to the park’s commercial aspect, Eataly World also aims to “be a place for food and environmental education,” and to “provide children and young people from all over the world with the chance of getting to know the rich heritage of our country.” This education will be promoted via 40 different workshop classes, at which guests can learn Italian culinary skills like pasta and cheese production first-hand.

For more on food business, watch this Fortune video:

Though Eataly currently operates dozens of stores world-wide—including 13 in Japan, 10 in Italy, and others sprinkled throughout New York, Chicago, Dubai, and beyond—the FICO project is like no other the brand has ever taken on. The theme park is anticipated to draw in six million tourists annually, including 2 million international visitors.

In order to construct and maintain the large-scale project, the company has created some 3,000 jobs, including 700 inside the park itself. Additionally, over 2,000 companies will be represented in the final project, including the producers selling their product in the FICO organic marketplace. According to the company, “We will welcome hundreds of small, high quality businesses that will showcase live their manufacturing and crafting arts. We shall be the echo of their tales, crafts, passion, ingenuity.”

Eataly World is currently on track to open to the public in September, 2017. When finished, in order to ensure optimum eco-responsibility, the complex will be powered by some 44,000 solar panels, the most of any single property in Europe, Bloomberg reports. A 200-room Eataly Hotel will also be constructed on the property, and is slated to open in 2018. That way, park visitors will be able to camp out, and eat out, to their pasta-loving heart’s content.

About the Authors
By Gillie Houston
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By Food & Wine
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Arts & Entertainment

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
Elon Musk warns the U.S. is '1,000% going to go bankrupt' unless AI and robotics save the economy from crushing debt
By Jason MaFebruary 7, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Russian officials are warning Putin that a financial crisis could arrive this summer, report says, while his war on Ukraine becomes too big to fail
By Jason MaFebruary 8, 2026
18 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Commentary
America marks its 250th birthday with a fading dream—the first time that younger generations will make less than their parents
By Mark Robert Rank and The ConversationFebruary 8, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Gen Z Patriots quarterback Drake Maye still drives a 2015 pickup truck even after it broke down on the highway—despite his $37 million contract
By Sasha RogelbergFebruary 7, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Commentary
We studied 70 countries' economic data for the last 60 years and something big about market crashes changed 25 years ago
By Josh Ederington, Jenny Minier and The ConversationFebruary 8, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Personal Finance
Tom Brady is making 15 times more as a commentator than he did playing in the big game thanks to $375 million contract 
By Eva RoytburgFebruary 8, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Latest in Arts & Entertainment

super bowl
CommentaryAdvertising
The Super Bowl reveals a dangerous gap in corporate strategy 
By Christopher VollmerFebruary 9, 2026
22 minutes ago
Side-by-side photos of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei
AIOpenAI
OpenAI vs. Anthropic Super Bowl ad clash signals we’ve entered AI’s trash talk era—and the race to own AI agents is only getting hotter
By Sharon GoldmanFebruary 9, 2026
3 hours ago
Arts & EntertainmentAdvertising
Super Bowl ads go for silliness, tears and nostalgia as Americans reel from ‘collective trauma’ of recent upheaval — ‘Everybody is stressed out’
By Dee-Ann Durbin, Mae Anderson, Wyatte Grantham-Philips and The Associated PressFebruary 8, 2026
16 hours ago
bad bunny
Arts & EntertainmentMusic
How Bad Bunny went from Super Bowl supporting act to headliner with ticket sales to rival Taylor Swift
By Jake AngeloFebruary 8, 2026
21 hours ago
CEO Bob Iger seen with Millennium Falcon which will be in the 2015 released Star Wars movie.
NewslettersFortune Archives
Fortune Archives: How Disney went Big Tech
By Indrani SenFebruary 8, 2026
1 day ago
Successwork-life balance
NBA star Metta World Peace says Kobe Bryant taught him that no matter how hard you work, someone else is working harder
By Orianna Rosa RoyleFebruary 8, 2026
1 day ago