L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2026 www.italoamericano.org L'Italo-Americano 2 T he Week of Italian C u i s i n e i n t h e World is one of the m o s t s t r a t e g i c moments in Italy's international promotion. It is much more than a series of tast- ings, a large fair where tradi- t i o n a l p r o d u c t s a n d f a m i l y recipes are rediscovered, or a celebration of culinary excel- lence. It is a cultural and eco- nomic platform that recognizes the sector's strategic impor- tance, with its value reaching approximately $793 billion in 2025 and exports rising 5% to nearly $82 billion. Taken as a whole, Italian cuisine is a powerful engine of national economic growth, but it is also one of Italy's largest and most recogniz- able showcases abroad, a way of reaffirming the close relation- ship between territory, local heritage, health, and sustainability, and therefore of telling part of the story of Italian identity. Local food traditions and protected products – PDO, DOC, PGI, and TSG – form the backbone of national production because they represent far more than recipes or ingredients. Many of these specialties contain knowledge accumulated over centuries, practices that have helped preserve landscapes, and models of sustainable consumption. To talk about Italian food, then, is also to defend a network of knowledge and flavors that exists nowhere else in quite the same form. More than taste: culinary diplomacy at the Week of Italian Cuisine From the Editor Food is memory and community, a powerful source of social cohesion and continuity between generations, and Italy's regional cuisines carry the centuries-old histories of the com- munities that created them. They also give many areas a form of economic resilience, helping counter the depopulation of inland and hill communities, while protecting biodiversity and preserving native crops and livestock breeds that might other- wise disappear under the pressure of standardized industrial agriculture. Food can also support a fairer distribution of eco- nomic value, giving visibility and financial sustainability to the small and medium-sized producers who remain at the heart of Made in Italy. For that reason, choosing an Italian product means doing more than simply buying something to eat. It means support- ing a much broader effort, one that includes protecting local specialties from the improper imitations associated with Ital- ian Sounding. This is not merely a question of branding: it is a form of counterfeiting and consumer deception, including in terms of the organoleptic qualities that fake products cannot reproduce and, by extension, their possible implications for health. The sums involved are enormous. According to Coldiretti, the Italian Sounding market is worth approximately $44.9 billion in the United States alone, while the business linked to so-called agromafias has reached around $28.3 bil- lion. Seen in this context, it is significant that the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have appointed a Special Envoy for Agri-Food Diplomacy. The task is not limited to protecting Made in Italy, helping small and medium-sized companies expand internationally, support- ing access to new markets, or overcoming customs and phy- tosanitary barriers while safeguarding food safety. The wider idea is that Italy is competing on the basis of something more substantial: quality must be recognized as a value in itself, production chains and the traceability of raw materials must be understood as Italian strengths, and the eco- nomic reputation attached to brands must be treated as some- thing non-negotiable and worth defending. Behind an Italian product, and sometimes behind the slightly higher price it car- ries on the shelf, there are centuries of expertise as well as thor- oughly modern systems of supply-chain control. Those con- trols offer consumers reassurance that the extra-virgin olive oil, wine, cheese and dairy products, pasta, or baked goods they buy in Ohio or California have not been made with ingredients of uncertain origin, but according to established standards designed to protect both people and animals. In an international climate marked by geopolitical crises, rising energy costs, and the recurring effects of the climate cri- sis – with 700 extreme weather events recorded in Italy in June 2026 alone and more than 28% of the country at risk of desertification – reputation has become one of the most important tools of competitiveness. The Week of Italian Cuisine in the World, therefore, is more than a celebration of taste or an opportunity to sample familiar dishes. It is a chance to reaffirm a vision of Italian identity in which a brand is defined not by what Italy says about itself, but by what it can demonstrate to be authentic Made in Italy. Promoting Italian cuisine around the world means carrying product quality, strong institutional protection for regional specialties, and brand reputation forward together. From the Foreign Ministry's Agri-Food Diplomacy to international events dedicated to the value of the Mediterranean Diet, including the event scheduled at the United Nations in New York, Italy's challenge is clear: protecting the territorial roots of its food means preserving the authority to help shape the future of food worldwide. Simone Schiavinato, Editor Simone Schiavinato NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS Member of FUSIE (Federazione Unitaria Stampa Italianaall'Estero), COGITO L'Italo-Americano Please send correspondence to P.O. Box 40156 Pasadena CA 91114 www.italoamericano.org L'Italo-Americano Newspaper (a 501(c)(3) non- profit organization), www.italoamericano.org, is the largest and longest-running Italian news- paper in America, not to mention the cultural and news resource for all things Italian in the US. A bilingual newspaper which represents an historical landmark for the Italian American Communities in the West Coast and throughout the US. L'Italo-Americano benefits from subsidies by the Italian Government, Memberships and Donations intended to support and not interrupt a mission that began in 1908 to preserve and promote the Italian language and culture in the USA Periodicals postage paid at Monrovia, California 91016, and additional mailing offices. PUBLISHER Robert Barbera Grande Ufficiale EDITOR IN CHIEF Simone Schiavinato ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER Patrick Abbate EDITORIAL COORDINATOR Barbara Minafra COPY EDITOR Francesca Bezzone LOS ANGELES CONTRIBUTOR Silvia Nittoli SAN FRANCISCO CONTRIBUTOR Serena Perfetto SEATTLE CONTRIBUTOR Rita Cipalla CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Mariella Radaelli, Matt Walker, Francesca Bezzone, Luca Ferrari, Stefano Carnevali, Paula Reynolds, Teresa Di Fresco Nicoletta Curradi, Generoso D'Agnese, Jessica S. Levy, Fabrizio Del Bimbo, Maria Gloria, Chuck Pecoraro, Anthony Di Renzo Serena Perfetto, Kenneth Scambray, Chiara D'Alessio, Luca Signorini, Giulia Franceschini © 2025 L'Italo-Americano Membership: One year $59 - Single copy $2.25 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to L'Italo Americano P.O. 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