Italian cuisine has taken an important step towards inclusion on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has given its first green light to the nomination, issuing a positive technical assessment that recommends Italian cuisine for inscription. This endorsement marks the first major milestone in a process that could culminate in official recognition at the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee meeting in New Delhi this December.
The Italian government’s nomination dossier, titled “Italian cuisine: sustainability and biocultural diversity”, presents food as a living expression of the country’s identity — a set of social practices, rituals and gestures that unite local traditions without hierarchy. The 2023 submission highlights how deeply rooted Italian food culture is in community and continuity. It describes a way of life where knowledge of ingredients and techniques passes down through generations, and where the act of cooking and sharing meals is as significant as the dishes themselves.
The dossier argues that Italian cuisine embodies sustainability and biodiversity. From olive groves in Puglia to rice fields in Lombardy and vineyards in Piedmont, regional diversity is the heart of its strength. It is a cuisine shaped by geography and history, yet bound by a shared respect for simplicity, quality and local produce. This mosaic of regional identities underpins Italy’s case that its food heritage represents not just recipes, but an enduring cultural ecosystem.
Balance of ancient customs with modern sustainability
UNESCO’s technical evaluation acknowledges the depth of this cultural narrative. The experts recognised how Italian culinary traditions balance ancient customs with modern sustainability. The report also noted the community involvement behind the nomination, with thousands of Italians — from home cooks to professional chefs — contributing to the dossier’s creation.
This process is not unfamiliar to Italy. In 2017, UNESCO added the art of the Neapolitan “pizzaiuolo” to its intangible heritage list, recognising the craft of traditional pizza-making as part of humanity’s shared culture. However, the current nomination seeks something broader: an acknowledgment of Italian cuisine as a whole, encompassing regional and social diversity from Alpine mountain dishes to Sicilian coastal recipes.
If the Intergovernmental Committee confirms the nomination at its session in New Delhi, scheduled from 8 to 13 December, Italian cuisine will join a select group of food traditions recognised for their cultural value, such as the Mediterranean diet and French gastronomy. The designation would reinforce Italy’s position as a global leader in food culture and could further boost culinary tourism, exports and international awareness of traditional practices.
