Italian cuisine added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage List

UNESCO has officially registered Italian cuisine on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This is the first time the culinary system of an entire country has been recognised in this way, highlighting the role of food traditions in cultural identity and social cohesion.

Why it was recognised

• Social value: cooking and shared meals function as community practices that promote inclusion and strengthen family and local bonds.
• Intergenerational transmission: recipes, techniques and memories are passed down through generations, preserving skills and flavours.
• Sustainability and respect for ingredients: traditional anti-waste approaches and attention to high-quality raw materials.
• Cultural identity: food as a means to tell the stories of communities.

Who supported the nomination

The nomination dossier was prepared through collaboration among institutions, experts and associations that have long worked to safeguard and promote Italy's gastronomic heritage. The recognition acknowledges the ongoing efforts to maintain and transmit culinary traditions.

What this means for visitors and local areas

• Greater visibility for food-related events, culinary museums, markets and gastronomic routes linked to UNESCO sites.
• More opportunities for hands-on experiences: cooking classes, meetings with local producers and themed itineraries.
• Stronger incentives to protect short supply chains and traditional knowledge.

Italy in the broader context

This recognition reinforces Italy's standing among intangible heritage elements related to food. Other Italian practices already on UNESCO lists include, among others, the art of Neapolitan pizza makers, the Mediterranean diet, transhumance, the bush-trained vine cultivation of Pantelleria, dry-stone wall building, truffle hunting, traditional irrigation systems and the breeding of Lipizzan horses.

For those organising cultural and gastronomic visits, the inscription offers an additional reason to combine classic artistic and landscape routes with immersive food experiences that convey living community traditions.