La Italian cooking has “outstanding universal value” and its official candidacy proves it a Unesco World Heritage Site for 2023. The government, on the proposal of the ministers of agriculture and food sovereignty Francesco Lollobrigida and of culture Gennaro Sangiuliano, has decided to nominate for the current year the practice of Italian cuisine in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of Unesco. And the National Commission approved unanimously. Now the dossier will be sent by the Foreign Ministry to UNESCO and the evaluation process will begin, which should be completed by December 2025.
“We have decided to nominate Italian cuisine – said the Undersecretary for Culture, Gianmarco Mazzi – to enhance a great national heritage, which concerns not only the 60 million Italians who live in our country, but also the 80 million Italians and their descendants who live abroad, as well as all foreigners who love the Italian style and that inspire you.
"It is the beginning of a journey that we hope will lead us to win - continued Mazzi - two years await us before the Unesco decision, in which we hope there will be a collective participation of all the people involved in the food chain of our Village. There are many people and institutions that have supported it: for example, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which, as we know, promotes the Week of Italian Cuisine in the world in November, so we will also collaborate with them. We will try to ensure, over the next two years, that our cuisine and all that it represents for our country and for our identity is talked about internationally".
Italian cuisine candidate Unesco heritage, the presentation of the dossier
In the official candidacy dossier for the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritages - to write the Luiss professor, Pier luigi petrillo who had already in the past overseen the nominations for Unesco of other elements such as the Mediterranean Diet – Italian cuisine is defined as “a set of social practices, rituals and gestures based on the many local knowledge which, without hierarchies, identify and connote it . A mosaic of traditions that reflects the biocultural diversity of the country and is based on the common denominator of conceiving the moment of preparation and consumption of a meal as an opportunity for sharing and comparison".
Italian cuisine has always been synonymous with excellence and authenticity all over the world. It is first in the world for variety and richness of products, from natural to processed ones. Each region has its own traditions and recipes. The Italian culinary heritage is an icon, which means conviviality and sharing.
Coldiretti's comments on the candidacy of Italian cuisine
"A useful initiative - declares Coldiretti - to enhance the identity of the national agri-food sector and finally clarify the too many mystifications which take away market space from original products abroad. Almost three out of four Italians (73%) traveling abroad for work or on vacation have come across a dish or specialty at least once Made in Italy tarot".
"The candidacy of Italian cuisine as a World Heritage Site is the answer to those who want to impose a global diet based on insects and synthetic foods without any link with the territory, local agriculture, traditions and culture". This is what the President of Coldiretti says Ettore Prandini in commenting on the announcement of the candidacy of Italian cuisine as a UNESCO heritage site for 2023.
Who invented Italian cuisine?
Pellegrino Artusi (Italian writer, gastronome and literary critic) was the inventor of Italian cuisine or, better, the one who was the first to transcribe it in a book "Science in the kitchen and the art of eating well". He collected recipes from all over Italy (about 790) sometimes describing them with small personal comments and paying due attention to those prepared in a home-style way. His manual has been called "the Gospel of Italian cuisine" which, with its million and a half and more copies sold and one hundred editions, make it the best-selling recipe book in history.
