From a systematic perspective, the regulation of agri-food products operates on multiple levels, deriving from both EU law and national law. At EU level, the most recent measure is Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of 24 April 2024, concerning the protection of geographical indications for wines, spirit drinks, and agricultural products, as well as traditional specialities guaranteed and optional quality terms for agricultural products. Article 1 includes within its scope the regulation of protected designations of origin for agricultural and food products. With this Regulation—and, especially, with Title III, entitled Geographical Indications—the EU legislator has sought to establish a unitary and comprehensive system of geographical indications protecting products whose characteristics, properties, and reputation are linked to their places of production (see Article 4). The provision establishes a direct correlation between the place of production and the need to protect the product, elevating territory to a co-essential element of protection14. At national level, equal importance is attributed by Law no. 206 of 27 December 2023, entitled Organic Provisions for the Enhancement, Promotion and Protection of Made in Italy15. In particular, Article 43 allows producer associations to form consortia with the aim of promoting common protection through the adoption of production specifications. The reference to the aforementioned regulations, clearly stating that only certain articles have been taken as a reference (in order to draw a direct comparison), allows us to affirm that both EU and national regulations pursue the primary objective of protecting food products, establishing, among other things, that an essential element in identifying a product worthy of protection is the relationship it has with and expresses in the territory in which it is produced. The logic lies in the obvious consideration that a food product—and even more so a product of gastronomic excellence—is the outcome of processing 14 For an overview of the subject, see F. Albisinni, La filiera agro-alimentare fra produzione e mercato, in Il dir. ind., 2/2025, p. 105 ff.; A. Germanò – V. Rubino (eds.), La tutela dell’origine dei prodotti alimentari in Italia, nell’Unione europea e nel commercio internazionale, in Atti del convegno, Giuffrè, 2015. It is also necessary to recall, although not strictly connected with PDO products yet still pertaining to the relevance of the territory in relation to food production, Regulation (EU) 2023/2411 on the protection of geographical indications for craft and industrial products and amending Regulations (EU) 2017/1001 and (EU) 2019/1753. With regard to the category of derivative products, see B. Calabrese, La nuova disciplina delle indicazioni geografiche per i prodotti derivati, in Giur. comm., 2/2025, p. 223 ff. 15 For an analysis, see V. Franceschelli, Vent’anni dopo. Sul made in Italy dopo la legge 27 dicembre 2023, n. 206, in Riv. dir. ind., 1/2024, p. 24 ff.; see also note 7. 413 TERRITORY AND GASTRONOMIC PRODUCTS OF EXCELLENCE: AN INDISSOLUBLE UNION
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