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Posted on 12/20/2025 1:46:34 PM PST by nickcarraway
The designation highlights Italy’s long-standing communal foodways, from regional harvest traditions to daily cooking practices passed down through generations.
Key points:
-UNESCO officially recognized Italian cuisine as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, marking the first time an entire national cuisine has received this distinction.
-The designation highlights Italy’s culinary traditions as a communal, daily practice rooted in seasonality, regional identity, and shared rituals that extend far beyond individual dishes.
-Italian officials and experts say the recognition strengthens efforts to protect authentic Italian products from imitation while acknowledging the global influence and widespread popularity of Italian food.
-Rome’s Colosseum glowed with celebratory lights this week as Italy marked a historic milestone: Its cuisine was officially recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity — the first time an entire national cuisine has received this honor.
“Italian cuisine has been recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity,” Erica Di Giovancarlo, trade commissioner and executive director for the U.S.A at the Italian Trade Agency, said in an emailed statement. “This honor pays tribute to our traditions and the passion we have long brought to the table. It is a recognition that highlights Italian cuisine as a profound expression of our nation’s identity and culture that is cherished and celebrated across the globe.”
Italy’s recognition goes beyond recipes. In its official listing, UNESCO describes Italian cooking as a “communal activity” and a “daily practice,” language that underscores how food in Italy is deeply woven into everyday life. From olive oil pressed with neighbors to Sunday dinners at Nonna’s table, the designation affirms what historians and chefs have long said: Italian cuisine is less a set of dishes than a living ritual shaped by community, seasonality, and identity.
UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list already includes foodways such as the French baguette, Neapolitan pizza‑making, and the Mediterranean diet, alongside traditions like flamenco and yoga. But those entries honor a single product, technique, or shared lifestyle. Italy’s designation is the first to recognize an entire national cuisine — from pasta and olive oil to regional harvest rituals — as a cultural practice in its own right.
Where everyday cooking becomes cultural identity
Food historian Francine Segan sees the UNESCO phrasing of cooking as a “communal activity” as especially fitting.
“That is the essence of Italian cuisine — the community,” she says. “They’re such an agricultural country, and have been for centuries, and many of their efforts historically had to be communal. Think about the passata di pomodoro, having to make that thick concentrate of tomatoes when the tomatoes are in season. It’s the whole family, the whole neighbors, and then they share it.”
Segan points to olive oil harvests, grape pressing, and Sunday dinners as examples of how food traditions became embedded in daily life.
35 Irresistible Italian Main Dishes
“Even today in modern Italy, where there are big supermarkets, people still tend to shop every day, depending on how they feel, what they want to eat,” she says. “They value the freshness. That’s part of the funny thing tourists always love to take pictures of — the fruit vendor who hands you peaches for tonight or tomorrow, depending on when they’ll be ripe.”
At Eataly, the world’s largest Italian marketplace, CEO Tommaso Brusò echoed that sentiment. “In Italy today, there is still a common tradition of making daily trips to the market to pick up fresh, local products and cooking with what is seasonally available,” he said in an email interview. “Most importantly, Italian cuisine is at the center of everyday life. It’s how we spend quality time together with our loved ones and our family.”
Keeping Italy’s culinary heritage unbroken
UNESCO’s recognition also carries a practical mission: protecting authenticity from the proliferation of counterfeit goods. Italian officials have long pushed back against “Italian-sounding” products — items marketed as Made in Italy but produced elsewhere.
These imitations mimic products with Protected Designation of Origin (DOP) status, such as Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosecco, Mozzarella di Bufala, Prosciutto di San Daniele, and Aceto Balsamico di Modena, yet have no actual ties to Italian producers.
14 Italian Cheeses Every Cook Should Know, From DOP Icons to Sleeper Hits “The goal is closely aligned with Eataly’s mission to be the ambassador of authentic Italian food,” Brusò said. “One example of this issue is the widespread presence of ‘Italian-sounding’ products in international markets. With the UNESCO recognition, I’m confident that consumers will continue to deepen their understanding of authenticity and how to identify a traditional ‘Made in Italy’ product.”
Segan notes that this fight is centuries old. “There are historic references back in the 18th century,” Segan says of counterfeit products. “Italians are so vociferous right now, you can almost see it every week in a different newspaper, magazine — they are trying to fight certain makers who are, what they think, stealing a name that should be a trademark.”
How Italian food conquered the world
Why Italy first? Segan points to the worldwide popularity of Italian food. “For the United States, Italian cuisine is the number one restaurant food,” she says. “And I think that’s true in most countries. Italians transmitted the importance of their cuisine as they immigrated, because one of the first things they could do was sell food. They opened pizzerias, they sold vegetables from pushcarts. Even way back in the early 1800s, when they traveled within Europe, they opened restaurants in Paris. They spread their cuisine because it was what they knew.”
“It honors the richness of our regions, the dedication of our producers and chefs, and the generations who have preserved and passed down recipes, techniques, and values,” Di Giovancarlo said.
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It should be a crime that so many people misuse ‘Italian’ for food which is an absolute travesty.
But almost nobody understands what ‘Italian’ food is anymore.
Appallingly low expectations mixed with ‘true pandemic’ learned ignorance.
The UN is desperately seeking relevance. This is SO pathetic.
I’d wager that English Food will be the second time a national cuisine is honored. 😉
“It should be a crime that so many people misuse ‘Italian’ for food which is an absolute travesty.”
Olive Garden is good example.
My wife is mostly Italian. Her mother was born in Campania. She still shops for fresh produce almost every day.
A lot of English food is very good.
It’s not given its due.
Shopping for food every day. Apparently pre refrigerator days habits are hard to break.
Oh, THANK YOU.
Not sure why, but your comment jarred my thinking: I was torn on what vegetable to make with Christmas dinner. Nothing was ringing true.
Rapini it IS!
Well fancy that, I’m just now letting my latest batch of sauce simmer down with 24 homemade custom meatballs standing by. Ten more minutes and in they go.
Italians make the best desserts, followed by Germans and Jews in a tie. I’m of Irish descent. Ireland ranks slightly ahead of Navajo on the desert ranking chart, and they eat bark with moss on it for dessert.
Sounds great!
Regrettably, I haven’t made mine in over a year.
Here's the movie's timpano dish:
Big Night movie trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQQhoYLsoHI
Can’t believe the cuisine of Scotland didn’t make the grade.
I long for the day when I can walk into someone’s home when they’re crafting such a meal and I can enjoy to aroma with the meal (I go nose deaf while cooking).
I haven’t experienced that since I was a child living at home.
I have a photo of my Italian great-great grandmother, great grandmother and grandmother posing with my dad when he was a baby. It’s on the side of my fridge next to the stove for luck. My Dad’s dad was Swedish but that’s a whole ‘nother meatball.
“It should be a crime that so many people misuse ‘Italian’ for food which is an absolute travesty.”
Speaking of Gernal Mills scratch franchise Olive Garden.
Is there anything in their ruling about “Hawaiian pizza” or “Taco pizza” being crimes against humanity?
Italian food in Italy is absolutely the King of the Tongue. It’s way more than pizza, lasagna and spaghetti. French cuisine is overrated. English food is by far the worst in the northern hemisphere. Dutch food is pretty poor except there is hardly Dutch cuisine. German coffee is underrated. Spain can cook but eat food way too late. American food is essentially Chili and Barbecue. Not many original dishes in our country.
Quite the picture. I’m fortunate to have my Italian maternal grandparents’ picture from just after they got off the boat.
It’s Ok:
My Dad’s mother was Scottish (Dad’s at least half Italian and never knew it before I pointed out facts).
I’ve been dragged there for dinner (as well as spaghetti factory).
I’ve made it clear that I will never eat at either again in my lifetime.
As well, I’ll ONLY sample an ‘Italian’ Ristorante on personal reference. That comes after a literal lifetime of disappointment. Same goes even for pizza (although there are merely 2 pizza places in the state which earn my irregular business).
The ONLY Italian eatery that I’ve sampled in 40 years with what I classify as ‘good’ Italian food is Crusco’s in Angel’s Camp, CA.
Thus, my pursuit of a real kitchen with which to retire (and cook until room temperature)
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