Italians have a great reputation for preparing delicious food with fresh ingredients but have sometimes been given a bad rap for their attitude to vegetarianism.

“Si, si. No steak. But you eat prosciutto, giusto?”

Most vegetarian travellers to Italy return home with a handful of anecdotes like this and belly full of pasta al pomodoro.

But things are changing. According to a recent survey, at least one in ten Italians are vegetarian and more and more Italians are deciding to abandon their old food habits, saying arrivederci to meat in favour of a vegetarian diet.

So what has prompted this shift in attitude?

Besides a love of salsicce and salame, Italians are also renowned for being notorious followers of trends. (That centuries old reputation for fashion and style doesn’t just happen by accident!) The rise in vegetarianism and veganism in Italy has come about thanks to the new global movement to reduce waste, recycle, minimise carbon and conserve water and energy resources. Now vegetarianism and veganism are associated with other words like ‘green’ and ‘eco-friendly’, and — like the latest fashion label — people are starting to wear the name vegetarian with pride.

The Festival Vegetariano, this year in its fifth edition, is one fantastic example of the trend. Held last weekend in the beautiful town of Gorizia in the far north east of Italy, the festival welcomed more than 30,000 visitors over three days.

Gorizia, nestled just along the Slovenia border, has something of a reputation for eco-consciousness. One of Italy’s first organic food manufacturers, BioLab, was established here in 1991 and the entire region to which Gorizia belongs (Friuli Venezia Giulia) has long championed the cause of legislating against the use of genetically modified corn crops.

The festival celebrates vegetarian eating and environmentally conscious living with a series of events: lectures, cooking demonstrations, entertainment, and naturally, lots of great vegetarian food to sample: from vegan mozzarella and salami to cereal milk made from quinoa and buckwheat. Local producers and bakers were advocating for naturally produced bread with organic flours and natural starters.

The festival is hosted in the grounds of the historic castle of Gorizia, with an amazing view overlooking the beautiful countryside: the rolling hills, the tall trees, the seemingly never ending rows of grapes, corn, potatoes. Here, being ‘green’ isn’t hard. Trends and labels aside, Gorizia is as green as it gets.