The Eni Enrico Mattei Foundation has launched a study to investigate the role of quality food and wine products within the development process, not just tourism, of a rural region such as Basilicata characterized by quality food and wine products and quality production areas but still little known in the market.

To this end, one of the objectives of the research was to define a positioning map built on the two essential variables of the food and wine tourism product: the products of the enogastronomy and the presence of tourist services in the respective production areas, in order to determine which areas with its products can create a tourist product based on enogastronomy.

The research and specifically the positioning map has confirmed our starting point, we are facing areas characterized by small-scale productions and firms characterized by small-scale structural constraints, such as the lack of marketing strategies able to promote brand and sales policies.

Moreover the results of the research were used to define a marketing strategy aimed at linking Basilicata food products with its territories to the brand of Made in Italy. Hence the Sorprendente Basilicata project was born in collaboration with Eataly aimed at enhancing the territory of Basilicata through the promotion of its agro-food excellences.

Keywords: Rural development, territorial identity, food and wine tourism, geographic brand products, tourism product, tourist resources.