Cucina Italiana Patrimonio UNESCO

31 Saturday Jan 2026

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Culture, Italia, Italian life, Mangiamo!

Tags

Cucina Italiana, Cucina povera, Culinary Culture, Italian food, Traditional recipes, UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Last month, UNESCO* (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) recognized Cucina italiana/Italian cooking, as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (Patrimonio Culturale Immateriale dell’Umanità).

For the first time, this designation is given to an entire distinctive national food culture rather than to a single dish or tradition. For example, previous entries include ‘The art of the Pizzaiuolo Napoletano‘ (2017) and the ‘Mediterranean Diet’ (2020).

This recognition is not about specific dishes or products. It celebrates Cucina Italiana as a living heritage, similar to a language, deeply rooted in culinary traditions, community and local diversity. Also highlighted are biocultural diversity and sustainability, referring to the regional variety of Italian cooking, seasonality of fresh, local ingredients, respect for ingredients, and zero waste practices. Cucina Italiana is based on centuries of survival and cucina povera.

There is intergenerational transmission of artisanal food preparation techniques, skills, knowledge, and stories, often via i nonni. Cucina Italiana provides a way to express love, preserve traditions and promote a sense of cultural identity, while gathered to share meals around the table.

What does this UNESCO recognition actually mean? Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called this a victory for Italian identity, protecting food systems, and boosting the economy. Will this actually protect us from ‘Italian sounding’ products? Likely not, but through awareness and transmission of knowledge…such as what I aim to do with this blog….it can help protect local Italian culinary culture and promote respect for ingredients and preparation techniques. Most people enjoy eating Italian food, but really know very little about it.

If you are fortunate enough to still have nonni, make sure to learn absolutely everything you can from them while it is still possible. Be a spugna (sponge) and absorb all the knowledge!

Learn more about cucina povera and the resilience of our contadini ancestors in the post Grano Arso.

*UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is a UN agency that protects biodiversity, safeguards world heritage, promotes quality education, and combats misinformation. UN World Heritage Sites spotlight physical places and monuments worth celebrating and preserving. Intangible cultural heritage does the same for cultural practices and safeguards cultural traditions at risk.

Italia has 61 entries (55 cultural, 6 natural) on the UNESCO World Heritage list and 30 entries on the tentative list. To read other Un po’ di pepe posts on UNESCO World Heritage entries, enter UNESCO in the search bar.

Buon appetito, Cristina

Olive Oil Limoncello Cake

25 Thursday Jan 2018

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Mangiamo!, Recipes

≈ 28 Comments

Tags

Casa Berti, Catalyst Art Retreat, Cucina Italiana, Dolci, Gugliano, Italian food, Limoncello, Lucca, Olive oil harvest, Olive oil limoncello cake

In November I attended an art retreat, surrounded by 900 olive trees! It was at Casa Berti near Gugliano, about 40 minutes outside of Lucca. There were also lemon trees in giant terra cotta pots on the terrace, not yet ready to be moved into the limonaia for the winter. Many of the lemons become limoncello. I was so inspired and distracted by the olive trees that I took several breaks from art making to pick olives. I could not help it-they were calling to me! Every day or two, when there were enough picked, they would be taken to the frantoio or olive press and then return to Casa Berti as lush, fragrant oil. Green gold as a friend calls it. The Casa Berti cucina had a stainless steel bidone full of new oil with a little spout for pouring.

Being surrounded by olives, freshly pressed oil, fresh lemons and limoncello, I had the urge to make an olive oil limoncello cake. I have been making this cake for years, but I did not have the recipe with me. I also left my art making to bake just when Ben, the owner of Casa Berti, had gone on another run to the frantoio with olives. I searched the kitchen but could not find any measuring utensils or a scale, so the measurements were all a big guess. ??? Luckily I knew where the limoncello was!

The cake came out better than usual, probably due to the quality and freshness of the ingredients. I usually just dust it simply with zucchero in polvere-icing sugar. For a fancier look, make a limoncello glaze with icing sugar and limoncello. The cake is also nice with fresh fruit, especially raspberries or blueberries. It goes equally well with a cup of espresso or a glass of limoncello and is also very easy to make-you don’t even need a mixer-just a wooden spoon and a whisk. I adjusted some of the amounts to the recipe based on the Casa Berti cake, but if your measurements are not exact, non ti preoccupare, it will probably still taste good!

Casa Berti

Casa Berti Olive Oil Limoncello Cake

400g (~3 cups) flour

200g (almost 1 cup) sugar

4 medium sized eggs or 3 large eggs

160ml (~ ¾ cup) extra virgin olive oil

130 ml (~½ cup) milk

60 ml (¼ cup, 4 tablespoons) limoncello

Grated zest/peel of 2 organic lemons

16g packet Pane degli Angeli (or 15 ml/1 tablespoon baking powder)

Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F)
Butter and flour a 23 cm (9 inch) pan
In a small bowl, add the lemon peel to the sugar and mix with fingers or the back of a spoon until they are well mixed and the sugar looks damp
Whisk the eggs and add the sugar/peel mixture
Add the olive oil, milk and limoncello
Add flour a bit at a time and stir with a wooden spoon just until the flour is mixed in. Do not over mix
Add Pane degli Angeli
Spoon into the pan and bake for 40-45 minutes. Be careful not to overbake or it may come out dry
Cool and dust with icing sugar
For a fancier topping, make a limoncello glaze with 1 cup icing sugar and 30 ml (2 tablespoons) limoncello. If it is too dry, add another 15 ml (1 tablespoon) limoncello or milk. Mix together and drizzle onto cake.