Italy is the first in the world in terms of awards

The data were provided by the Chair of UNESCO’s World Expert Panel Pier Luigi Petrillo, Luis Guido Carli Professor of Cultural Heritage and Director of the UNESCO Chair at Unitelma Sapienza University.

great precedence – As for the UNESCO recognitions for agrifood “Italy is, from this point of view, a world power”, says Petrillo, stressing that the five designated represent a significant share of the total 15 awarded to Italy in different categories. Petrillo explains great importance in this sector “which has become very difficult, especially if one considers that food is increasingly an instrument of dialogue and diplomacy. Precisely by focusing on the cultural dimension of food, among other things, the politics of ‘traffic lights’ can be overcome.” Absurdity about food that is so detrimental to our typical products.”

The five prizes – And the expert stresses once again that it is a record-breaking day that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched the week of Italian cuisine in the world. In particular, he recalls, the five prizes concerned the Mediterranean diet, the art of the Neapolitan pizza makers, the quarrying and hunting of truffles, translocations, and the agricultural practice of viticulture in Pantelleria.

The phenomenon of the Mediterranean diet culture – Regarding the Mediterranean diet: “The UNESCO recognition represents an absolute turning point – says Petrillo – because since then the global community has viewed food not only as a product but as a cultural phenomenon, an identity of a way of life, a way of being”. The first ever recognition in the history of UNESCO in the field of food and nutritional practices.