L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano M any of you are proba- b l y f a m i l - iar with La C u c i n a Italiana, the famous Ital- i a n c u l i n a r y m a g a z i n e which, since 1929, has been collecting, discussing, and presenting food trends and recipes from the peninsula. Besides being a treasure trove of recipes and ideas to use in the kitchen, the maga- zine also became, in 2020, a spokesperson for an impor- tant initiative, that of getting I t a l i a n f o o d o n t o t h e U N E S C O H e r i t a g e list. Wait, I can hear what you a r e s a y i n g : I t a l i a n food is part of the UNESCO heritage list: we have the art of Neapolitan pizza and the valleys of Langhe and Val- dobbiadene where so many of our DOC wines are pro- duced. UNESCO also pro- t e c t s t h e M e d i t e r r a n e a n Diet, which we share with our cousins facing the sea. Yet, what La Cucina Ital- iana envisaged two years ago, at the beginning of its campaign, was something different. The idea isn't to protect the dishes themselves, but rather the universal value of Italian culinary culture. In July 2020, the first of 6 col- l e c t i b l e i s s u e s w e r e p u b - l i s h e d : e a c h f e a t u r i n g a famous Italian chef, sup- porter of the candidature, starting with Massimo Bot- t u r a , f o l l o w e d b y D a v i d e O l d a n i i n A u g u s t 2 0 2 0 , Antonia Klugmann in Sep- t e m b e r , C a r l o C r a c c o i n O c t o b e r , N i k o R o m i t o i n N o v e m b e r a n d , f i n a l l y , Antonino Cannavacciuolo in December. The campaign, of course, c r e a t e d a h a s h t a g , t o o , # l a c u c i n a i t a l i a n a - goestounesco. Italy follows in the steps of France, Mexi- c o , a n d J a p a n , c o u n t r i e s whose cuisines are already part of UNESCO's intangible heritage list. At the heart of the initia- t i v e i s t h e c u l t u r a l a n d human value of food in Ital- ian life: it is a value to pre- s e r v e a n d a n i m p o r t a n t marker of our national iden- tity, worthy of official recog- n i t i o n – b e c a u s e w h e n i t comes to popular recogni- tion, I think we all agree that Italian food is king already. In an article published last year, and penned by Sil- v i a S a s s o n e - w h o i s i n charge of the UNESCO can- didature project - La Cucina Italiana discussed in depth the reasons that informed its decision to get the proce- dures for the candidature going. The country was just out of the third Covid-19 wave, and the vaccination campaign was working well: we were slowly, but quite steadily, beginning to see the light at the end of the t u n n e l . T h e p r e v i o u s 1 5 months had been surreal and frightening, but had also brought to Italians some- thing positive: the rediscov- ery of old culinary tradi- tions, and the pleasure of "making everything from scratch." Especially during the first lockdown, that of March 2020, we all turned into bakers, cooks, and gar- deners, eager to fill the time we had on our hands, but also, I believe, to find some sense of safety in things that used to do just that when we were children. We became, during the pandemic, the number one fans of our own cuisine: we embraced piatti poveri and family recipes, tried new things, and made the time spent in the kitchen a pleas- ant respite from the mad- ness around us. Our food gave us strength, and not only physically: it gave us something nice and good to look forward to. According to the candida- ture's promoters, cooking is n o t o n l y " b e i n g i n t h e kitchen," it encompasses a variety of little rituals and gestures rooted in the idea that preparing and consum- i n g f o o d i s a m o m e n t t o share, to show love and care to others. Cooking is what our ancestors left us, and what our families defined much of their heritage with. Italian cuisine is a patch- w o r k o f t r a d i t i o n s a n d know-how, which develops through connections and exchange, as well as cultural and historical contamina- tions – think of the Arabic influences we still find in Sicilian food. There is also the importance of limiting waste and the flavorsome t r a d i t i o n o f o u r c u c i n a povera, varieties of which w e e n c o u n t e r i n e v e r y region. And the title itself of the dossier, which clearly spells o u t c u c i n a d i c a s a italiana, that is, the most traditional of all cooking, the deepest set in our memories, only further highlights the truly familial nature of our food. The centrality of this connotation is important because it is truly in this the soul of Italian food resides, i f i t ' s t r u e t h a t e v e n t h e greatest of our chefs always paid their respect to moth- ers, fathers, and grandpar- ents who instilled in them t h e p a s s i o n a n d l o v e f o r c o o k i n g . T h o s e v a l u e s o f convivial warmth and caring f o r o n e a n o t h e r t h r o u g h f o o d t h e y i n h e r i t e d f r o m h o m e , a r e t h e s a m e t h e y offer, still today, even in their most famous and fabu- lous restaurants. The committee in charge of compiling the candidature dossier was formed over a y e a r a g o , w i t h m e m b e r s ranging from university pro- fessors in anthropology, his- t o r y o f f o o d , l i n g u i s t i c s , t o u r i s m a n d h o s p i t a l i t y , along with experts in design and culinary literature: their aim was to create the most complete and adequately source-supported dossier to m a k e t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f d o m e s t i c I t a l i a n c u i s i n e c l e a r e v e n t o t h o s e w h o don't know it. This candidature follows those of two other iconic examples of Italian culture: opera singing, and caffè. Could Italy's home-cooking become part of the intangible UNESCO World Heritage? FRANCESCA BEZZONE A n o n n a b a k i n g : w h a t i f h e r w a y o f c o o k i n g b e c a m e p a r t o f t h e U N E S C O W o r l d H e r i t a g e ? ( P h o t o : T e m i s t o c l e Lucarelli/Dreamstime) LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE TRADITIONS

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