ROME (AP) 鈥� Italian food is around the world for its fresh ingredients and palate-pleasing tastes. The U.N.’s cultural agency gave foodies on Wednesday another reason to celebrate their pizza, pasta and tiramisu by listing Italian cooking as part of the world鈥檚 鈥渋ntangible鈥� cultural heritage.
UNESCO added the rituals surrounding Italian food preparation and consumption to its list of the world鈥檚 traditional practices and expressions. It’s a designation celebrated alongside the more well-known UNESCO list of World Heritage sites, on which Italy is well represented with locations like Rome’s Colosseum and the ancient city of Pompeii.
The citation didn鈥檛 mention specific dishes, recipes or , but highlighted the cultural importance Italians place on the rituals of cooking and eating: the Sunday family lunch, the tradition of grandmothers teaching grandchildren how to fold tortellini dough just so, even the act of coming together to share a meal.
鈥淐ooking is a gesture of love, a way in which we tell something about ourselves to others and how we take care of others,鈥� said Pier Luigi Petrillo, a member of the Italian UNESCO campaign and professor at Rome鈥檚 UnitelmaSapienza University and Luiss Guido Carli University.
鈥淭his tradition of being at the table, of stopping for a while at lunch, a bit longer at dinner, and even longer for big occasions, it鈥檚 not very common around the world,鈥� he said.
Premier Giorgia Meloni celebrated the designation, which she said honored Italians and their national identity.
鈥淏ecause for us Italians, cuisine is not just food or a collection of recipes. It is much more: it is culture, tradition, work, wealth,鈥� she said in a statement.
Many gastronomic cultures get recognition
It鈥檚 by no means the first time a country鈥檚 cuisine has been recognized as a cultural expression: In 2010, UNESCO listed the 鈥済astronomic as part of the world鈥檚 intangible heritage, highlighting the French custom of celebrating important moments with food.
Other national cuisines and cultural practices surrounding them have also been added in recent years: the 鈥渃ider culture鈥� of Spain鈥檚 Asturian region, the Ceebu Jen culinary tradition of Senegal, the traditional way of making cheese in Minas Gerais, Brazil.
UNESCO meets every year to consider adding new candidates to its lists of 鈥渋ntangible heritage.鈥� There are three types: One is a representative list, another lists practices that are in 鈥渦rgent鈥� need of safeguarding and the third is a list of good safeguarding practices.
This year, the committee meeting in New Delhi considered 53 nominations for the representative list, which already had 788 items. Other nominees included , the handloom weaving technique used to make Bangladesh鈥檚 Tangail sarees, and Chile鈥檚 family circuses.
An Italian campaign focusing on sustainability and diversity
In its submission, Italy emphasized the 鈥渟ustainability and biocultural diversity鈥� of its food. Its campaign noted how Italy鈥檚 simple cuisine valued seasonality, fresh produce and limiting waste, while its variety highlighted its regional culinary differences and influences from migrants and others.
鈥淔or me, Italian cuisine is the best, top of the range. Number one. Nothing comes close,鈥� said Francesco Lenzi, a pasta maker at Rome鈥檚 Osteria da Fortunata restaurant, near the Piazza Navona. 鈥淭here are people who say 鈥楴o, spaghetti comes from China.鈥� Okay, fine, but here we have turned noodles into a global phenomenon. Today, wherever you go in the world, everyone knows the word spaghetti. Everyone knows pizza.鈥�
Lenzi credited his passion to his grandmother, the 鈥渜ueen of this big house by the sea鈥� in Camogli, a small village on the Ligurian coast where he grew up. 鈥淚 remember that on Sundays she would make ravioli with a rolling pin.鈥�
鈥淭his stayed with me for many years,鈥� he said in the restaurant’s kitchen.
Mirella Pozzoli, a tourist visiting Rome鈥檚 Pantheon from the Lombardy region in northern Italy, said the mere act of dining together was special to Italians:
鈥淪itting at the table with family or friends is something that we Italians cherish and care about deeply. It鈥檚 a tradition of conviviality that you won鈥檛 find anywhere else in the world.鈥�
Italy is already well-represented on list
Italy already has 13 other cultural items on the UNESCO intangible list, including Sicilian puppet theatre, Cremona鈥檚 violin craftsmanship and the practice of moving livestock along seasonal migratory routes known as transhumance.
Italy appeared in two previous food-related listings: a 2013 citation for the 鈥淢editerranean diet鈥� that included Italy and half a dozen other countries, and the 2017 recognition of .
Petrillo, the Italian campaign member, said after 2017, the number of accredited schools to train Neapolitan pizza makers increased by more than 400%.
鈥淎fter the UNESCO recognition, there were significant economic effects, both on tourism and the sales of products and on education and training,鈥� he said.
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