Arte del Convivio

The Gianna Vivente and Sergio Jovinelli Foundation, dedicated to the memory of my parents, is a non-profit organization whose aim is to spread the knowledge of both Italian and International cuisine.

Since 1999, we have committed ourselves to the Foundation with curiosity and love, in the spirit of conviviality. The art, so to speak, of getting together with others over a good glass of wine and conversing in the presence and in the name of good food.  We are convinced that eating unites people, just as travelling together might, and allows for discovering deeper values.

These values were the premise for the creation of Arte del Convivio.  The school’s task has always been that of concretely contributing to both the development of skills but also to the mysteries related to cooking. We have organized cooking courses, including professional and master courses, in addition to those for curious and passionate people of all ages.

Arte del Convivio and Identità Golose accumulated experience over the years. Convivium Lab, grew out of that experience, a revolutionary cooking school where new ideas can be experimented, either referring to tradition or choosing innovation, and facilitated by the more recent video and audio technology.

Paola Valeria Jovinelli

Love and pride are the ingredients that have always guided my family in every choice. The challenge began with my mother, a very young bride, who tried to please my father, nick- named “the impossible”, especially where food was concerned. Mother had limited experience in those days.  She had had a privileged childhood, followed by a difficult adolescence in a wartime Trieste.  My father, instead, was a brilliant engineer from Naples who had fought in Russia with all the energy and strength of his twenty years and, in spite of the retreat, had managed to maintain memories of adrenalin and youth that softened the tragedy.

When it came to food, he was also well accustomed, thanks to his mother, the mythical Grandma Ottilie.  She had an enormous talent in knowing how to combine the fantasy and flair of her Neapolitan soul with the precision of her Teutonic origins inherited from her German grandmother.  How could my poor mother feel, therefore, when compared to the queen of pizzelle, timbale, tomato sauce and meatballs?  She never gave up, however, and with the help of recipes, experiments and cooking school became a refined cook.  We decided to remember and honor her after she passed away by transmitting her all-around determined knowledge on how to always transform a meal into a special occasion – and precisely, the Arte del Convivio.