On December 10, 2025, in New Delhi, India, the Italian Cuisine was officially declared UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee. The award criteria were not limited to recipes or individual national specialties, but rather embraced Italian cultural models, social practices, as well as the rituals and gestures passed down from generation to generation. This is the first time UNESCO has recognized the identity of an entire national cuisine, evaluating qualities, such as the posture at the dining table, the cooking methods, and the concept of food in the nation and its communities.
The candidacy was promoted by the Ministero dell’Agricoltura e dal Ministero della Cultura, curated by jurist Pier Luigi Petrillo, and supported by the Italian Academy of Cuisine, the Casa Artusi Foundation, the magazine “La Cucina Italiana”, ANCI, Slow Food, and the Italian Federazione Italiana Cuochi.
