Overview
- Meeting on Dec. 10 in New Delhi, the UNESCO committee approved the inscription focusing on the rituals of preparing and sharing food, highlighting family meals and intergenerational know-how rather than specific dishes.
- Italy says this marks the first time an entire national cuisine has been recognised, adding to earlier entries such as the Mediterranean diet in 2013 and Neapolitan pizza-making in 2017.
- Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida hailed the move as a tool to deter imitators abroad and to support jobs, supply chains and regional producers.
- Industry estimates forecast up to an 8% rise in visitors over two years, or about 18 million additional overnight stays, with studies noting past boosts to training and tourism after prior UNESCO listings.
- Scholars and some restaurateurs caution that national branding could spur homogenisation and overtourism, pointing to pressures seen in Venice and the Prosecco hills and warning against a standardised tourist menu.