This new inscription does not celebrate one famous dish or one region.

It focuses on everyday habits you notice as soon as you sit down at a table in Italy:

• cooking with seasonal, often local ingredients

• recipes handed down in families and communities

• taking time to eat together, talk and celebrate

• a strong link between what is on the plate and where you are

When Italy put itself forward, it chose a very clear title: Italian cooking, between sustainability and biocultural diversity. In other words, it is not only about taste and tradition; it is also about:

• avoiding waste by using every part of an ingredient

• favouring simple dishes built on what is in season

• keeping alive local varieties of grains, fruit, vegetables and cheeses that exist only in certain valleys or coastal areas

Italy was already on the UNESCO list with entries such as the Mediterranean Diet and the art of Neapolitan pizza-making. This latest step widens the view to the daily food culture you meet in homes, trattorie and village festivals from north to south – and the farming and craft behind it.

Italy already has more UNESCO World Heritage Sites than any other country, from historic city centres to archaeological areas and iconic landscapes. Now its cuisine joins the picture – and in a different way.

The Mediterranean Diet, for example, was recognised years ago as a shared heritage of several Mediterranean countries, with Cilento as one of the emblematic Italian communities. This new inscription is more specific: it is the first time an entire national cuisine – with all its regional variations – is recognised as intangible heritage in its own right.

Crucially, the UNESCO file talks about Italian cooking as a set of “living gastronomic landscapes”. Fields, vineyards, pastures, orchards, fishing grounds and markets are all part of the picture. The idea is modern and quite forward-looking: protect recipes, yes, but also the small farms, traditional techniques and local ingredients that make those recipes possible in the first place.

One of the reasons this recognition is so important is the variety behind it. Travel across Italy and the food changes constantly – because the landscapes, microclimates and histories change too. That mix of nature and culture is exactly what UNESCO calls biocultural diversity.

A few examples you might build a trip around:

Campania – Neapolitan pizza, buffalo mozzarella, sfogliatelle and babà, plus simple seafood dishes along the Amalfi and Cilento coasts.

Lake Garda – freshwater fish, delicate local olive oil, lakefront trattorie and a mix of Alpine and Mediterranean flavours in the villages around the shore.

Calabria – spicy ’nduja and cured meats, citrus and bergamot, rustic pastas and breads, and generous seafood along both Tyrrhenian and Ionian coasts.

Tuscany – grilled meats, cured salumi, soups and bread-based dishes that still feel very close to the countryside.

Sicily – citrus, pistachios, seafood, street food and pastries with Greek and Arab influences.

Puglia – extra-virgin olive oil, orecchiette, vegetables and fresh fish along a long, varied coastline.

Lazio / Rome – carbonara, amatriciana, cacio e pepe and other pasta dishes that have become international favourites.

The details change from place to place, but the feeling is the same: simple ingredients, cooked with care, and served in a way that makes you feel part of something local – and connected to the surrounding land or sea.

For travellers, the UNESCO label does not turn Italy into an open-air museum. It simply underlines that:

Meals are part of the sightseeing

A long lunch in the Langhe, an evening in a family-run trattoria in Bologna or a street-food stroll in Palermo are not “breaks” from the itinerary. They are part of the experience.

Where you stay shapes what you eat

A base in Parma will naturally lead to ham, cheese and tortelli. A stay near the Tuscan coast will bring seafood and simple grilled dishes. Choosing your region is, in effect, choosing the flavour of your holiday.

Small producers and markets are worth your time

Visiting a Parmigiano dairy, an acetaia, a wine estate or a weekly market is one of the easiest ways to experience this heritage in real life – and often the most memorable. You see how local varieties are grown, how animals are raised and how much work goes into a bottle of oil or a wheel of cheese.

Your choices can support more sustainable travel

Because the UNESCO inscription highlights sustainability, there is real value in:

• eating seasonal menus instead of chasing the same dishes all year

• choosing accommodation that sources locally or runs its own vegetable garden

• travelling more slowly between regions so you can notice the change in food and landscape

You are not asked to be perfect – just to make small decisions that reward the people keeping this food culture alive.

At Expertoitaly, we have always planned holidays around these everyday food moments, not just around “must-see” sights.

Depending on where you go, we can:

• base you in areas where local products are still made in small quantities and served close to source

• suggest family-run hotels and agriturismi where the owners cook, shop at the market and share their own recipes

• weave in visits to dairies, wine estates, olive mills, street-food spots and neighbourhood trattorie that match your interests and pace

• a strong link between what is on the plate and where you are

You do not need to call yourself a “foodie” to enjoy this. You just need to like the idea that what you eat on holiday tells you something real about where you are.

If this UNESCO news confirms anything, it is what many travellers already feel: going to Italy is as much about how you eat as what you see.

So when you think about your next trip, a good starting question is:

Whether that means:

• a week in Tuscany for markets, trattorie and producer visits

• a coastal break in Puglia or Sicily for simple, sea-fresh cooking

• a multi-centre journey that links cities, countryside and wine regions

…we can help you choose the right bases, the right rhythm and the right experiences.