Identità Milano, the Identità Golose Congress in Milan, the father of all the later events in London, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Shanghai, first took place at Palazzo Mezzanotte in January 2005. It’s the first fine dining congress in Italy and the idea of its creator and curator Paolo Marchi was seemingly simple: «After returning from Lo Mejor de La Gastronomia I wondered: why is it that our chefs must go on a pilgrimage to San Sebastian, in the Basque Country, to exchange – and often copy – the ideas of other chefs from around the world? Let’s create our own culinary congress».