Italian Cuisine Celebrated by UNESCO

Italian cuisine has made it. UNESCO has recognized it as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity. After five years of intense, passionate, and complex work, our country has received the…

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SCEGLI ORA Italian cuisine has made it. UNESCO has recognized it as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity. After five years of intense, passionate, and complex work, our country has received the prestigious recognition from the Intergovernmental Committee meeting in New Delhi, India. It’s a source of pride for the South, which contributed with iconic dishes like spaghetti and pizza, but also lasagna and cassata. In mid-November, there was a go-ahead from the Commission of Experts. But it wasn’t enough to be at ease. Because it’s a bit like when in soccer the referee awards a penalty. Then you have to score the goal. And mistakes can always happen. A wrong statement by a minister, a boast by some government representative, or a premature celebration could lose everything. The protocol is indeed very strict, and few understand the delicacy of what’s at stake. Fortunately, everything went well. The culinary tradition of the Belpaese has passed the test and from now on can boast the title of universal heritage. Moreover, it can claim to be the first national cuisine to be recognized by the United Nations Agency. Until now, only the indigenous cuisine of Michoacán, one of the 31 states that make up Mexico, had been recognized. The French tried fifteen years ago, but their opulent cuisine received much criticism. Too exclusive and excluding, due to the costs. Too cruel to animals. The geese and ducks sacrificed to make foie gras know something about it, being force-fed, with their feet nailed to the floor to prevent them from wasting even a single calorie with a walk, so that all the fat enlarges their livers, which spread on croutons or browned in butter are exquisite. But they turn the conscience of many diners. Not to be left empty-handed, France, led by human geographer Jean Robert Pitte, long-time rector of the prestigious Sorbonne University in Paris, settled on a less exciting but winning formula, having the ‘Repas Gastronomique des Français’ recognized in 2010, that is, the gastronomic meal of the French, which consists of those festive meals that families indulge in at least once in their life from an important chef to have a unique experience. It goes from the appetizer to the cognac. A spectacular table worthy of the Sun King. And each course is paired with a different wine that enhances the flavors of the dishes. All accompanied by the proverbial art of conversation, which our cousins from across the Alps have made a distinctive trait. Promoting our candidacy, precisely named ‘Italian cuisine, between sustainability and biocultural diversity,’ were first of all Maddalena Fossati, director of La cucina italiana, the magazine that has been telling readers about traditions and innovations on our tables for almost a century. The Italian Academy of Cuisine, founded by Orio Vergani in 1953, which with its delegations promotes gastronomic culture with symposia, libations, and lessons throughout Italy and abroad. Casa Artusi, presided over by economist Andre Segrè, a foundation named after gastronome Pellegrino Artusi, author of the book ‘The Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well’ (1891) based in Forlinpopoli, in the province of Forlì-Cesena. Its mission is to promote home cooking. These civil society stakeholders were supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Culture, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which, in concert with the Italian National Commission for UNESCO, submitted the candidacy dossier to Paris. The scientific committee that materially wrote the pages of this document, with the anthropological technical contribution of the Ministry of Culture, was chaired by Pier Luigi Petrillo, a great expert in intangible heritage, with whom the writer shares the UNESCO Chair in Intangible Cultural Heritage and Comparative Law at the University of Rome Unitelma-Sapienza. For some years, the professor was head of the legislative cabinet of the Campania Region and is also the architect of other victories for our region at UNESCO, such as the recognition of the Mediterranean Diet in 2010 and the Art of Neapolitan Pizzaiuolo in 2017. What Italian cuisine is, we all know. An identity symbol, a historical-anthropological heritage handed down from generations. But it must be said that when telling such a diverse gastronomic culture as ours to other nations, it is necessary to make a convincing synthesis and go beyond recipes. Thus, the choice fell, as Petrillo explains with Massimo Montanari in the newly published book ‘Everyone at the Table’ (Laterza), on what distinguishes Italian cuisine, namely ‘its daily dimension, its characterizing every moment and every aspect of an Italian’s life wherever they are, its characterizing the relationships between places and people, territories and cultures, the language, the way of speaking and thinking regardless of social extraction.’ In short, once Italy was made, it took cuisine to make Italians.

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