Italian cooking and its rituals get United Nations designation as World Heritage
Italian cooking is now part of the world's "intangible" cultural heritage. (AP: Gregorio Borgia)
In short:
UNESCO has added the rituals surrounding Italian food preparation and consumption to its list of the world's traditional practices and expressions.
The listing means Italian cooking is now part of the world's "intangible" cultural heritage.
Some of those traditions recognised were the Sunday family lunch, the tradition of grandmothers teaching grandchildren and the act of coming together to share a meal.
The United Nation's cultural agency has given foodies another reason to celebrate their pizza, pasta and tiramisu by listing Italian cooking as part of the world's "intangible" cultural heritage.
Italian food is already loved around the world for its palate-pleasing tastes but UNESCO has now added the rituals surrounding Italian food preparation and consumption to its list of the world's traditional practices and expressions.
It is a designation celebrated alongside the more well-known UNESCO list of World Heritage sites, on which Italy is well represented with locations like the Colosseum and the ancient city of Pompeii.
Loading...The citation did not mention specific dishes, recipes or regional specialties, but highlighted the cultural importance Italians place on the rituals of cooking and eating.
Some of those traditions include 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.
"Cooking is a gesture of love, a way in which we tell something about ourselves to others and how we take care of others," said Pier Luigi Petrillo, a member of the Italian UNESCO campaign and professor of comparative law at Rome's La Sapienza University.
"This 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's not very common around the world,"he said.
Premier Giorgia Meloni celebrated the designation, which she said honoured Italians and their national identity.
"Because for us Italians, cuisine is not just food or a collection of recipes. It is much more: it is culture, tradition, work, wealth," she said in a statement.
Italy's prime minister said the recognition honoured Italians and their national identity. (AP: Gregorio Borgia)
Many cultures get recognition
UNESCO meets every year to consider adding new candidates to its lists of "intangible heritage".
There are three types: One is a representative list, another lists practices that are in "urgent" 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 Swiss yodelling, the hand loom weaving technique used to make Bangladesh's Tangail sarees, and Chile's family circuses.
In Italy's submission, the country emphasised the "sustainability and bio cultural diversity" of its food.
Its campaign noted how Italy's simple cuisine valued seasonality, fresh produce and limiting waste, while its variety highlighted its regional culinary differences and influences from migrants and others.
"For me, Italian cuisine is the best, top of the range. Number one. Nothing comes close," said Francesco Lenzi, a pasta maker at Rome's Osteria da Fortunata restaurant, near the Piazza Navona.
The campaign noted how Italy's simple cuisine valued seasonality and fresh produce. (Unsplash: Alexandra Gorn)
"There are people who say 'No, spaghetti comes from China'. Okay, fine, but here we have turned noodles into a global phenomenon," he said.
"Today, wherever you go in the world, everyone knows the word spaghetti. Everyone knows pizza."
Mr Lenzi credited his passion to his grandmother, the "queen of this big house by the sea" in Camogli, a small village on the Ligurian coast where he grew up.
"I remember that on Sundays she would make ravioli with a rolling pin," he said.
"This stayed with me for many years," he said in the restaurant's kitchen.
AP