The art of Neapolitan pizza joins UNESCO heritage list

Today Neapolitan pizza became part ofUNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage. Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Maurizio Martina, who had begun drafting the nomination dossier in 2009 with the support of the Pizzaioli Associations and the Campania Region, announced on Twitter, "The art of the Neapolitan pizza maker is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. Victory! Italian food and wine identity increasingly protected in the world."

There are several Italian cultural riches that are part of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage. Two shared with other countries (the art of falconry and the Mediterranean diet), six all Italian (the work of the Sicilian puppets, Sardinian shepherds’ song, the art of lute-making in Cremona, processions with shoulder-mounted machines, the cultivation of Pantelleria’s tree vines, and now, the latest addition, the art of the Neapolitan pizzaiuoli ).

Originating in Naples in a period, according to earliest records, ranging from 1715 to 1725, pizza has always been considered worldwide to be an integral part of Italian culture, so much so that it is undoubtedly the best-known and best-loved Italian dish around the globe, but today the original process from the capital of Campania has become to all intents and purposes an important part of the history, not only culinary, of Italy.

According to UNESCO: “The culinary know-how associated with pizza making, including gestures, songs, visual expressions, local slang, pizza dough handling skills, performing and sharing is an indisputable cultural heritage. The pizza makers and their guests engage in a social ritual, whose counter and oven serve as a ’stage’ during the pizza-making process. This occurs in a convivial atmosphere involving constant exchanges with guests. Starting in the slums of Naples, the culinary tradition has become deeply rooted in the daily life of the community. For many young practitioners, becoming a Pizzaiolo is also a way to avoid social marginality.”

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The art of Neapolitan pizza joins UNESCO heritage list

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