Italian cooking awarded special Unesco status

An Egyptian snack, Icelandic pool culture, Cuban music and Albanian lahuta music also get recognition.

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National favourites including pizza are already on Unesco's list of "intangible cultural heritage", but now Italian cooking traditions and the way they are practiced and transmitted have been awarded.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has been pushing for her country's cuisine to be recognised since her election, said: "For us Italians, cuisine is not just food or a collection of recipes. It is so much more: it is culture, tradition, work, wealth."

For millions of fans the news confirms what they already believed - from Sicilian Cannoli to Calabrian 'Nduja - Italian is the best.

The announcement was made during a Unesco assembly meeting in the Indian capital Delhi on Wednesday.