The Experience Box from Ventuno is like no other Italian gift box I’ve ever received. This project by Ines de Franco, a former restaurant and deli owner with Sicilian roots, parcels up a taste of Italy’s diverse regions and turn it into a virtual journey.
Primarily a gourmet gift basket, the Experience Box from Ventuno offers savoury or sweet regionally-focused foods. For example, you can choose the Sicilian Experience Box – dessert, or the Puglia Experience Box – dinner.
Other regions currently covered by this Italian gift box service include Tuscany and Piemonte, with gourmet food items relating to aperitif, dinner and dessert. There are also plans in the works to eventually represent all 20 regions – of this one, unique, country – hence the name, Ventuno – which means 21 in Italian.
An Italian gift box with a difference
As well as containing a range of locally sourced, artisanal foodstuffs, the Italian gift boxes also contain a virtual reality (VR) viewer with some very special content.
The Ventuno VR Viewers provided are designed for users to enjoy a multisensory, immersive experience thanks to virtual reality technology. The content – which can be loaded by simply adding the Ventuno app to your phone and loading it into the VR Viewer – is designed to reflect the artisans whose food is provided in the Experience Box.
A Ventuno Viewer is contained in each gourmet Italian food and wine Experience Box, ready to teleport you straight to the Italian region in question.
Ventuno Experience Box Review
I received the Sicilian Experience Box – dessert from Ventuno to try. Like all the Experience Boxes, the Italian gift box is a handsome case made of natural wood, enclosing an expert selection of regional specialties, from boutique producers and certified or organic crops.
The Sicilian Experience Box includes local treats such as chocolate from Modica, dessert wine passito from Pantelleria, almond and nut brittle biscuits and cakes, as well as sugared nuts. It also contains the Ventuno VR Viewer, with highlights from rustic Sicily and its artisan community.
This Italian gift box is priced at €109 without shipping. Expect to pay around €10 for delivery within Italy and just over €36 to ship within Europe. Considering the weight, this is in line with other food and wine deliveries from Italy.
The products are delicious and well-packaged and the VR viewer is a fun addition. The price and the shipping make this a high-end gift for the Italy lover in your life, but it remains a unique way to access a flavour of Italy without leaving your home.
Visit the site for a scoot round and to see which Ventuno Experience Box you’d best match with!
If you love Italy but can’t travel this year, check out my tips for virtual Italy travel in how to Explore Rome from your armchair: 20 ideas for a virtual Rome tour.
