Project: "VedECOmune Monferrato"

From 2 October 2026 to 4 October 2026

Flowers transformed into naturally sparkling drinks, garden herbs transformed into herbal teas and infusions, medicinal plants used to make bitters, and even petals capable of changing color thanks to some "secret ingredient." How much do we really know about the plants that grow around us?
This question is the starting point for "Wildlife that's good for us. Fermentations, wild herbs, and local knowledge," an event open to the public that will bring the first event of the
VerdECOmune Monferrato 2026 project to Giarole on Sunday, September 13th, from 3:00 PM to 6:30 PM. The event, which will conclude on November 8th in Cella Monte, will be held in Giarole.

Promoted by Asproflor – Associazione Promozione Florirovivaismo, VerdECOmune proposes a new way of thinking about public and private greenery: not just an aesthetic element, but a space for biodiversity, knowledge, well-being, and a connection with the local area.
And in Giarole, the project will attempt to explore the garden from an unusual perspective: that of wild and cultivated plants that can be explored, utilized, and transformed, reviving ancient knowledge through contemporary skills and techniques.

"With VerdECOmune, we want to rediscover greenery in its broadest sense," explains Sergio Ferraro, president of Asproflor. "A plant isn't just something to look at: it can tell the story of the local area, contribute to biodiversity, become part of our food and herbal culture, and become an opportunity for learning and socializing. On September 13th, we want to start with curiosity, inviting adults and children to look with new eyes at what grows every day in our gardens and meadows."

From the Garden to the Glass
The afternoon will begin at 3:00 pm with "VerdECOmune: the Future of the Garden is Also Spontaneous," an introduction to the philosophy of sustainable gardens of the future.

At 3:20 pm, Valentina Menghini will guide the public through a discovery of spontaneously fermented sparkling drinks. Botanicals, flowers, fruits, and vegetables will become the starting point for explaining food fermentation, transformation, and preservation, the role of microorganisms, and homemade beverages, demonstrating how a plant can be used to create a naturally fermented beverage.
At 4:00 PM, Greta Gregori will lead "From Plant to Cup," a journey through the garden's medicinal plants. Through botanical samples, visitors will learn to recognize some of the most common herbs, understand which parts of the plant are used, and distinguish between herbal teas, infusions, and decoctions, connecting folk tradition and contemporary herbal use.
From 5:00 PM to 5:45 PM, pharmacist Giuseppe Cavallero will discuss "Essences, Medicines, and Distillates," recounting the journey from garden plants to the production of artisanal bitters: leaves, flowers, roots, bark, and seeds will allow visitors to enter a world where botany, pharmacy, herbal tradition, taste, and local traditions meet.

Even children discover the secrets of flowers
From 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM, there's also space for families with "Magic with Flower Petals," a workshop led by botany professor Angela Vicario, who will guide children through the discovery of colors and the surprising transformations that can be achieved using petals and some "secret ingredients."
The day will conclude from 5:45 PM to 6:30 PM with an informal conversation between speakers and the audience, and a tasting of herbal teas, herbal preparations, and liqueurs. The common thread will be a seemingly simple question: "How many of the plants we see before our eyes every day do we really know?"

The National Meeting of Flowering Municipalities arrives in Monferrato from October 2nd to 4th
The Giarole event precedes Asproflor's main national autumn event: from October 2nd to 4th, San Salvatore Monferrato and Terruggia will host the 2026 National Meeting of Flowering Municipalities, a three-day meeting where Monferrato will become a hub for municipalities, administrators, technicians, professionals, and communities from across Italy.

The Meeting will begin on Friday, October 2nd at the Parco Pineta in San Salvatore Monferrato with the World Café "The Urban Greenery We Really Need." After the institutional greetings, from 3:10 PM to 6:00 PM, five roundtables will address key issues for the future of cities: environment and climate change, investments in greenery, civic responsibility, quality of life and sociality, and biodiversity.
The goal will not be to develop abstract principles, but to empower administrators and technicians to discuss concretely applicable solutions for the management of urban greenery. VerdECOmune Monferrato will then be presented through experiences already realized in the area.

On Saturday, October 3rd, San Salvatore Monferrato will open its doors to families. Botanical games and workshops will be organized in the elementary school courtyard, from treasure hunts to "Magic with Flower Petals" and "Flowers That Bees Like." In the afternoon, the Municipal Theater will host the official opening of the Meeting, and from 4:00 p.m., "Blooming Italy" will take place, featuring the "Women's Seasons" parade, featuring floral and historical costumes, music, stories from the local area, and the awarding of the "Woman in Bloom," "Woman in Bloom," and "Woman in Tradition" awards.

The "Blooming Municipalities of Italy" meet in Terruggia
The Meeting will culminate on Sunday, October 4th at the Hotel Ariotto in Terruggia with the "Blooming Communities Day."

Among the keynote speakers will be the two new 2026 entries, Pordenone and Rovereto, while a roundtable discussion with Regional Councilor Paolo Bongiovanni, Agrion Foundation President Giacomo Ballari, and TabUi CEO Giorgio Proglio will present two Piedmontese experiences dedicated, respectively, to research and innovation applied to green areas (Agrion's GREEN UP project) and to digital and tourism development in local areas (the Tabui app, sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism).

Starting at 11:00 a.m., the 2026 Comuni Fioriti awards, the Quality Marks, and special prizes, including the Angelo Tosi Award and the Riccardo Todoli Award, will be presented.

Finally, the focus will shift beyond Italy: the result obtained by Piobesi Torinese in the European Entente Florale Europe competition will be announced, as will Costigliole d'Asti's subsequent participation in the global Communities in Bloom awards ceremony.

And it's from Piedmont that one of the most significant pieces of news for the Comuni Fioriti movement comes: in 2027, after fifteen years, the European competition will return to Italy, to Pomaretto, in the province of Turin.

"The National Meeting," Ferraro concludes, "will be an opportunity to network different experiences and, above all, to discuss green spaces for what they have become: an essential infrastructure for quality of life, climate adaptation, and the identity and attractiveness of local areas. Monferrato will also allow us to concretely showcase what we are experimenting with VerdECOmune and compare it with the best experiences from across Italy. Asproflor intends to continue supporting municipalities with training, research, experimentation, and real opportunities for discussion, because a greener community is, first and foremost, a community more attentive to its own future."

Different locations

All the updates on:
https://comunifioriti.it/