Italian Cuisine Becomes a UNESCO World Heritage Site - Video

Italian cuisine was inscribed on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage during the 20th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, in New Delhi.

We win when there’s great teamwork, and the inclusion of Italian cuisine in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage encourages us to do even more. This was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani in India. “Every recipe in our cuisine tells the story of our local areas, promotes a sustainable and balanced Mediterranean diet, is innovation and an extraordinary driver of growth and prosperity,” said the Deputy Prime Minister in his remarks commenting on the recent proclamation.

“UNESCO has recognized Italian cuisine as a World Heritage Site. We are the first in the world to receive this recognition, which honors who we are and our identity. Because for us Italians, cuisine is not just food or a collection of recipes. It is much more: it is culture, tradition, work, wealth.” This is the video message from the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, On the occasion of the inscription of Italian Cuisine on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the Prime Minister added: “Our cuisine is born from agricultural supply chains that combine quality and sustainability. It preserves a millennia-old heritage passed down from generation to generation. It grows thanks to the excellence of our producers and transforms into masterpieces through the skill of our chefs. And it is presented by our restaurateurs with their extraordinary teams.” This is a record that fills us with pride and provides us with a formidable tool to further enhance our products and protect them more effectively from imitations and unfair competition.

“We already export €70 billion in agri-food products, and we are the leading economy in Europe in terms of agricultural added value. This recognition will give the Italian economy a decisive boost to reach new goals. The government believed in this challenge from the beginning and did its part to achieve this result, and I thank Ministers Lollobrigida and Giuli first and foremost for their support of the dossier. But this is a game we didn’t play alone. We won this challenge together with the Italian people, together with our compatriots abroad, together with all those around the world who love our culture, our identity, and our way of life,” Meloni continued. “Today we celebrate a victory for Italy. The victory of an extraordinary nation that, when it believes in itself and is aware of what it is capable of, is unrivaled and can amaze the world. Long live Italian cuisine. Long live Italy,” concluded the Prime Minister.