UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity is all about the practices, expressions, knowledge and skills that communities, groups and sometimes individuals recognise as part of their cultural heritage.
Examples include community gatherings, oral traditions, songs, knowledge of natural spaces, healing traditions, foods, holidays, beliefs, cultural practices, skills of making handicrafts, methods of agriculture and cattle breeding, traditional navigation skills, cooking skills and more.
The government has decided, on a proposal from the Ministers of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty Francesco Lollobrigida and Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano, to nominate the nation's cuisine for the prestigious list.
The dossier will now be transmitted by the foreign Ministry to UNESCO and the evaluation process will begin, which should be completed by December 2025 at the latest, the sources said.
In its candidacy dossier, Italian cuisine is defined as a "combination of social practices, rituals and gestures based on the many local flavours that, without hierarchy, identify it and mark it out.
"This mosaic of traditions reflects the country's biocultural diversity and is based on the common denominator of conceiving the moment of preparation and consumption of the meal as an occasion for sharing and talking."
The dossier was written by Rome LUISS private University Professor Pier Luigi Petrillo, who in the past wrote the bids for many elements of the Mediterranean Diet as well as Neapolitan pizzaiuoli pizza makers.
"We have two years ahead of us in which we will have to promote our food in Italy and around the world," undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture, Gianmarco Mazzi, said.
"We hope to see widespread collective participation."
ANSA
