L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2025 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS weight to cultural homoge- nization. Its value lies less in individual cultural expres- sions than in the preserva- tion of a body of knowl- e d g e a n d e x p e r t i s e transmitted from one gener- ation to the next, knowledge t h a t e n s u r e s c o n t i n u i t y , identity, and a shared sense o f b e l o n g i n g . N o t l e a s t among these forms of intan- g i b l e h e r i t a g e i s w h a t w e commonly call "cuisine:" the result of what we prepare a n d e a t e v e r y d a y , w h i c h Michelin-starred chefs right- ly describe as culinary "art." Every dish, in fact, contains stories, techniques, and skills that deserve recognition for their intrinsic value. Com- b i n i n g f l a v o r s , w o r k i n g ingredients, cooking them properly, achieving balance, and mastering a vast range of foods that change with the seasons and from place to p l a c e r e q u i r e s a f o r m o f knowledge that is anything but self-evident. Transmission – One of UNESCO's central aims is to ensure that intangible cultur- al heritage is passed on from one generation to the next. For this reason, in 2003 it adopted the Convention for t h e S a f e g u a r d i n g o f t h e Intangible Cultural Heritage, ratified by Italy in 2007. The Convention sets out proce- dures for identifying, docu- menting, preserving, protect- i n g , p r o m o t i n g , a n d enhancing intangible cultural heritage. To be included on the Representative List, an e l e m e n t m u s t n o t o n l y embody cultural diversity and human creativity, but also be transmitted across g e n e r a t i o n s , c o n t i n u a l l y recreated by communities in relation to their environment and history, and capable of fostering a dynamic sense of social and cultural belonging. It must also promote respect for cultural diversity, human creativity, human rights, and sustainable development. I t a l i a n c u i s i n e m e e t s each of these criteria in full. At a global level, UNESCO has so far recognized 788 elements of intangible cul- t u r a l h e r i t a g e a c r o s s 1 5 0 countries, highlighting the extraordinary richness of the t r a d i t i o n s t h a t m a k e u p humanity's cultural mosaic. With the approval granted in New Delhi, Italy now counts 20 distinctive elements on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Her- itage of Humanity; three of them are closely tied to pil- lars of Italian identity: Ital- ian cuisine itself, the art of N e a p o l i t a n p i z z a i u o l i , inscribed in 2017, and the Mediterranean diet, recog- nized in 2010, practices that have all become an interna- tional symbol of the country. Iter – The candidacy was o f f i c i a l l y c o o r d i n a t e d b y UNESCO's Office within the D i r e c t o r a t e - G e n e r a l f o r European and International Affairs of the Ministry of Culture, through a participa- tory process that involved institutions, cultural associ- ations, and professionals. This collective effort made it possible to present Italian cuisine as a dynamic cultural system, capable of combin- ing memory with interna- tional openness. On March 23, 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereign- ty and Forests and the Min- i s t r y o f C u l t u r e f o r m a l l y l a u n c h e d t h e c a n d i d a c y , which was then supported by a wide range of events h e l d a r o u n d t h e w o r l d . These included the circum- navigation of the globe by t h e A m e r i g o V e s p u c c i , w h i c h b r o u g h t V i l l a g g i o Italia to Los Angeles in July 2024; the Italian Space Food c o n f e r e n c e a t t h e I t a l i a n E m b a s s y i n W a s h i n g t o n , which launched the project t o s e n d p a s t a i n t o s p a c e a b o a r d t h e I S S w i t h t h e A x i o m 3 m i s s i o n ; a n d a n international event held last June in New York, between Times Square and Gotham Hall, that helped promote Italy's ambitions. The move- ment supporting the candi- dacy, however, has been far broader and more horizontal than it might appear, with r o o t s t h a t e x t e n d f u r t h e r back in time. V a l u e – A c c o r d i n g t o e s t i m a t e s b y D e l o i t t e ' s Foodservice Market Moni- tor, in 2024 Italian cuisine reached an overall value of about $294 billion, with annual growth of 4.5 per- cent. It accounts for 19 per- cent of the global full-service restaurant market, with par- ticularly strong relevance in the United States and China, which together represent m o r e t h a n 6 5 p e r c e n t o f global consumption of Ital- ian cuisine. It is not only r e s t a u r a n t s t h a t s t a n d t o benefit from this momen- tum: the entire supply chain can gain from the pull of this international "promotion." In Italy alone, agri-food production reached a value of approximately $24.2 billion in 2024 (+3.5 per- cent year-on-year), marking growth of 25 percent since 2020 and accounting for 19 percent of national agri-food output. The added value of Italian agriculture exceeds $51.5 billion, up 2 percent from 2023, and according to ISTAT it is among the sec- tors contributing most sig- nificantly to national GDP growth. The food sector has expanded for the fourth con- secutive year (+7.7 percent), surpassing $11.3 billion, w h i l e b o t t l e d w i n e a l o n e maintains a stable value of about $12.9 billion. PDO and PGI exports exceed $14 billion (+8.2 percent over 2023), with record figures of around $6 billion for food p r o d u c t s ( + 1 2 . 7 p e r c e n t ) and more than $8.2 bil- lion for wine. Particularly s t r o n g g r o w t h h a s b e e n recorded in cheeses, fruit and vegetables, cereals, and o l i v e o i l . W i n e e x p o r t s increased by 5.2 percent, reaching approximately $8.4 billion and account- ing for 88 percent of total Italian wine exports. Overall exports grew by 5.9 percent within the EU and by 10.4 percent in non-EU markets, with the United States con- firming its position as Italy's leading market, accounting for 22 percent of the total. T h e s e f i g u r e s ( s o u r c e : Ismea–Qualivita), released by the Ministry of Agricul- ture, are not intended mere- ly to offer a snapshot of a system that is already strong and well structured – one that could benefit signifi- cantly, if not surge, from this renewed confidence in the "value of Italian food." They s h o u l d a l s o b e r e a d a s a warning, because this her- itage, along with the supply chains that produce it, trans- f o r m i t , a n d d i s t r i b u t e i t worldwide, remains under constant threat, as does the full potential of Italian cui- sine itself. Without adequate p r o t e c t i o n , i t r i s k s b e i n g undermined by the phenom- enon of Italian Sounding. T o u r i s m – T o u r i s m could also provide a further boost to the economy. In the first seven months of 2025, I t a l y r a n k e d s e c o n d i n E u r o p e f o r i n t e r n a t i o n a l arrivals (151.8 million) and total overnight stays (268.4 m i l l i o n ) , a n d t h i r d f o r domestic tourism, with 116.6 m i l l i o n o v e r n i g h t s t a y s between January and July. With recognition as a World Heritage element, tourism figures are expected to rise f u r t h e r : a n e s t i m a t e d increase of 6–8 percent in the early years, with around 18 million additional tourist arrivals within two years. According to ENIT, tourism linked to Italian cuisine is expected to generate a con- tribution to GDP of about $278 billion by the end of 2025, with projected growth to approximately $331 bil- lion over the next decade. In short, the recognition could act as a multiplier for tourism, agri-food produc- tion, the wider economy, and Italy's international image. At its core, however, it is a b o v e a l l a c o l l e c t i v e achievement: it celebrates the history and strength of Italian culture, because cui- sine tells the everyday story of a people shaped by the histories they have encoun- tered, by social change and deep-rooted traditions, by local resources and global influences, and by a shared pleasure in taste and creative innovation, a quality that continues to distinguish Italy a n d I t a l i a n s . N o t q u i t e a Christmas gift, perhaps, but c e r t a i n l y a n i c e b o w o n a r e c o g n i t i o n t h a t b r i n g s a moment of pride to Italians every day, just when they sit in front of a steaming plate of food. The inclusion on UNESCO's list is also a landmark achievement, as Italian Cuisine between sustainability and biocultural diversity is the first gastronomic tradition in the world to be recognized in its entirety CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 Key in the UNESCO decision was also the wealth of skills associated to Italian cuisine, passed on from a generation to the next (Photo: Griffisgigi/Dreamstime)

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