Politicians and households attend Sunday lunch towards backdrop of Colosseum as Italy seeks UNESCO recognition for Italian delicacies.
Italy’s premier Giorgia Meloni joined an open-air lunch within the Roman Forum on Sunday as a part of a bid for Italian delicacies to be added to the UNESCO checklist of intangible cultural heritage.
The candidature, which underlines the shut hyperlinks between Italian meals, tradition and way of life, is the results of a joint proposal from the ministries of tradition and agriculture.
Meloni was joined on the Sunday lunch within the Temple of Venus and Roma by tradition minister Alessandro Giuli, agriculture minister Francesco Lollobrigida, and Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri, collectively with households.
In a press release, Giuli described the occasion as “a second of encounter and conviviality amongst residents round conventional Italian dishes to assist the nomination of our delicacies for UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.”
1/3 Oggi al Colosseo per “Il pranzo della domenica – Italiani a tavola”.
Un momento di incontro e convivialità intorno ai piatti della tradizione italiana, per sostenere la candidatura della nostra cucina a patrimonio immateriale dell’UNESCO. pic.twitter.com/mKYmxjCnBl— Alessandro Giuli (@AlessGiuli) September 21, 2025
Meloni, who appeared on the Domenica In tv programme in the course of the lunch, acknowledged: “Italian delicacies is likely one of the most extraordinary issues we’ve got, expressing our tradition, our id, our custom, but in addition our energy.”
Meloni’s reside look on state tv sparked criticism from opposition centre-left PD chief Elly Schlein who described it as “an enormous business for Tele-Meloni” and accused the premier of discovering time to debate the “lunches and pastries she prefers to eat on Sundays”… “whereas Canada, the UK and Australia announce their recognition of the State of Palestine.”
Launched in 2023, Italy’s bid for Italian delicacies recognition is at the moment within the analysis course of, with a call anticipated from UNESCO by the tip of this 12 months.
