UNESCO has included Italian cuisine on the list of intangible cultural heritage — this is the first time that the entire national cuisine, rather than a single dish or tradition, has received recognition.
The Guardian writes about this.
The decision was announced on December 10 at the UNESCO General Assembly. The list includes all of Italian gastronomy, from pasta, mozzarella and tiramisu to wine.
21 Italian traditions were previously on the UNESCO list, including the art of making Neapolitan pizza and opera singing. Now the country has become the first to have its cuisine fully recognized.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a video message that the decision "fills the country with pride". According to her, Italian cuisine is not just about food, but about culture, tradition and a shared way of life.
The Meloni government has been working to have their cuisine recognized as a cultural heritage since it came to power in October 2022, and Italy later officially submitted its application to UNESCO. In it, the government emphasized that Italian food is a ritual that unites families and communities.
UNESCO World Heritage Sites are the worldʼs most valuable cultural and natural sites (such as St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, the Great Wall of China) that the United Nations has recognized as the heritage of all humanity. These sites need protection to preserve their uniqueness for future generations.
- In early December, the UNESCO committee added 19 Ukrainian monuments to the International List of Cultural Properties under Enhanced Protection. Now, the list has 46 Ukrainian sites, making Ukraine one of the worldʼs leaders in terms of their number.
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