After securing a spot for the Mediterranean Diet on UNESCO’s “intangible” heritage list, Italians are getting specific about foods that deserve their own unique recognition.
It took years of lobbying to have the Mediterranean Diet declared protected heritage, now a new campaign has begun to venerate an Italian cuisine staple: Pizza Magherita.
Pizza Magherita was chosen for Italy’s list of 2011 UNESCO heritage candidates after Italian citizens voted the cheesy treat as the food they most identify with. Pizza beat out pasta with tomatoes in a tight race, with bruschetta coming in third.
In addition to pizza from Naples, Italy’s list for UNESCO consideration also includes violin crafting in Cremona (where Stradivari first set up shop), grapevines on the island of Pantelleria, Sienna’s horse race and ancient festivals in towns like Viterbo.
Only two cultural icons will be formally submitted to the United Nations. Experts are predicting the final two will be pizza and Cremona’s venerated violin trade.
The campaign is insisting on UNESCO status for pizza to protect consumers from unwittingly eating imported ingredients when they dig in to their Neapolitan cuisine.
Protected cultural standing would ensure Pizza Magherita could only be made with Italian-origin ingredients, and give Berlusconi something to talk about in his next tourism commercial.
