MIG International Gelato Exhibition at Longarone

27 – 30 November 2016

An Historical Outline

The first edition of the “International Exhibition of Gelato”- MIG – dates back to December 1959. Every year at the beginning of winter this international fair on “cold sweet” makes Longarone (Belluno) the gelato capital, drawing the attention of gelato makers from all over the world.
Forty years ago things were different. The initiative began modestly for the willingness of local people: there were only 18 exhibiting companies in the traditional meeting point of the gelato makers from the Valley of Zoldo and Cadore. During the winter, they came back home at the end of the work season from the ice cream parlours of Germany, Austria, The Netherlands, and other European countries.
Soon the initiative became more important, but on the 9th of October 1963 everything stopped because of the Vajont disaster. A terrifying wave of water overtopped the dam, destroying Longarone and most of the nearby villages, killing 2.000 people. All the documents of the International Exhibition of Longarone were destroyed and they had to start all over again.

During the years, the MIG has played a more and more prominent role, becoming a qualified meeting point for the international world of gelato. Today it represents not only the main point of reference for gelato makers of the historical Valley of Zoldo and Cadore, but also for the ones from all over the world, as demonstrated by the annual presence of over 30.000 operators, the half of them coming from abroad.
The importance of this location is enhanced by the setting at Longarone Fiere premises of Artglace, the European Confederation of gelato makers.

During the opening days, international conferences and meetings on topical subjects are held, and famous competitions such as the “Coppa d’Oro” and the “Carlo Pozzi” award take place. Other significant prizes are the “Sweetest Website Award”, given to the best web-sites of ice-cream parlours, and the “Mastri Gelatieri” award, given yearly to a family or person who contributed to the artisan diffusion of gelato all over the world. The Annual Meetings of gelato makers Associations Uniteis, Ital, Agia and Agi-Hungary take place, too.