Overview
- Italy’s nomination, filed in 2023, was approved on December 10 by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee meeting in New Delhi during a review of 68 dossiers.
- The committee’s session also inscribed India’s Diwali, underscoring the broad scope of this year’s cultural recognitions.
- Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomed the decision, casting it as an affirmation of national identity and aligned with the government’s Made in Italy push.
- The inscription covers Italy’s culinary tradition as a whole, going beyond earlier entries such as Neapolitan pizza and espresso and differing from France’s 2010 recognition of the French gastronomic meal.
- Officials and observers expect the visibility to bolster tourism and elevate regional practices rooted in family transmission and local ingredients.