Italian food is considered amongst the best in the world, its heritage so important that UNESCO is now considering making Italian cuisine one of its World Heritage Sites.

Along with the traditional pasta and pizza dishes so loved across the world, the likes of Italian olive oil and Parmigiano Reggiano are staples in many people’s food store, a fact that has not gone un-noticed by the new Italian government who are leading the campaign.

Having already introduced a law to ban lab-produced-meat in defence of the country’s “culture and tradition”, the government are leading the latest campaign, officially announcing late last month it was they who were nominating Italian food as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Element.

Among those backing the idea is editor-in-chief of La Cucina Italiana, Maddalena Fossati, who admitted to being “deeply moved” by the plans.

“I believe in our identity and in the complicated yet wonderful country that is Italy,” said Fossati, who started a campaign to push for official UNESCO recognition in 2020. “Now’s the time to try and determinedly reaffirm the importance of our culinary lifestyle, which is loved and imitated all over the planet.”

The nomination announcement highlighted the importance of Italian food in the sociocultural sphere, and stressed the impact it has in shaping the country's culture and traditions. In 2017, Neapolitan-style pizza making was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list, with a decision on the latest move expected in December 2025.