Italians hailed Unesco’s recognition of their cuisine as a win for cultural diplomacy but critics warned it could backfire by turning popular dishes into bland tourist fare.
The listing could deliver further economic benefits to a country already renowned for its cooking and where the agri-food supply chain accounts for about 15 per cent of the national GDP.
It could also bring some relief to traditional family-run restaurants, long the backbone of Italian dining, which are facing a harsh economic climate in a market increasingly polarised between premium and budget options.
Neapolitan pizza-making’s 2017 Unesco listing drove a 284 per cent jump in professional courses, according to a study by Rome’s Unitelma Sapienza University, while agritourism in the southern Italian island of Pantelleria grew 500% over a decade after its vine cultivation was inscribed in the Unesco list.
A view of pasta dish spaghetti alla carbonara. — AFP
“I’m truly happy about this recognition”, said Manuela Menegoni, who runs Trattoria Bianca and Osteria Fernanda in Rome with her chef husband Davide Del Duca.
Industry groups estimate Unesco recognition could boost tourism by up to 8 per cent in two years, adding 18 million overnight stays.
However, researchers warn that such gains often come with overtourism pressures, as seen in Venice and the Prosecco hills in the northeast, where Unesco status has drawn crowds beyond local capacity.
Italy’s historic city centres are increasingly at risk of becoming what critics call gastronomic theme parks.
A pizza maker prepares a Pizza Margherita. — AFP
“Bologna has become a ‘mangificio’ (food factory). Checkered tablecloths and straw chairs are everywhere, in an invention of tradition for the benefit of external consumers”, said Alberto Grandi, a food historian and author.
In an interview with Reuters he shared his concern about the risk of food gentrification, a process where traditional, affordable and culturally rooted foods or food practices are transformed into upscale, trendy and often expensive versions.
“If the goal is to save Italian gastronomic culture, it will be the exact opposite”, he said.
“This is a marketing ploy that sells a standardised vision of Italian cuisine linked to a dozen dishes that must be offered everywhere because tourists expect them. This is to the detriment of a deeper understanding of Italian culinary history, which is being lost”, he added.
A waiter grates truffle on an egg. — AFP
Restaurant owner Menegoni said that the challenge now is ensuring the accolade strengthens everyday practices rather than feeding into low-budget mass tourism — sandwiches and pizza slices of the kind proliferating during the 2025 Jubilee in Rome.
“There is no single Italian cuisine, but a mosaic of local expressive diversities”, the government said.
From Lombardy’s ossobuco — braised veal shanks with gremolata, to Puglia’s orecchiette con cime di rapa — ear-shaped pasta with turnip greens, each region showcases Italian biodiversity and creativity, it said.
Not everyone in Italy supports the bid to join Unesco lists, which already feature almost 800 items including Italian opera singing and truffle hunting.
A chef cooks the traditional famous Italian pasta dish “spaghetti alla carbonara. — AFP
Alberto Grandi, a food historian, called the Unesco candidacy “just a marketing operation” in an interview with website Mantovauno last month.
In his 2024 book ‘La cucina italiana non esiste’ (‘Italian cuisine doesn’t exist’), Grandi argued that many dishes considered traditional, including pasta alla carbonara, are relatively modern inventions influenced by foreign cultures.
Grandi’s remarks have sparked a backlash from farmers’ association Coldiretti, which called his claims “surreal attacks on national culinary tradition”. — Reuters
Dining and Cooking