The eleventh edition of Italian Cuisine Week in the World in Mozambique opened last Saturday with a dinner at Mario’s restaurant in Tete, organized by the Italian Embassy in Maputo. This is the first time the festival’s events have taken place outside the capital, following the “Sistema Italia” mission carried out in the province in October. The dinner was attended by the governor of Tete, Domingos Viola; the provincial secretary of state, Cristina de Jesus Xavier Mafumo; and Mayor César de Carvalho.
The highlight of the evening was the story of Emanuele Ganci, a native of Calabria, who in November 1942—while a prisoner of war—survived the torpedoing of the ship Nova Scotia by clinging to a plank in the sea for over two days. After ten years in Lourenço Marques, he settled in Tete as a shoemaker; his descendants now own the restaurant. To celebrate his story, Chef Massimo Battaglini, who traveled from Brazil for the occasion, created a dish called “the castaway’s fettuccine.”
“Bringing Italian Cuisine Week to Tete means affirming that the relationship between Italy and Mozambique belongs to the entire country, not just the capital,” said Ambassador Gabriele Annis, speaking of “culinary diplomacy: memory, encounter, and friendship among peoples.”
This is the first edition since Italian cuisine was inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List in December 2025. The event will conclude on November 21 in Maputo with the Solaris Wine Festival.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
Dining and Cooking