ROME: Italy's famed food culture earned new global recognition as UNESCO added the rituals surrounding Italian cooking and eating to its list of "intangible" cultural heritage, highlighting not dishes themselves but the deep social traditions that define how Italians prepare and share meals.

The designation places Italian culinary rituals alongside the world's most celebrated cultural expressions, complementing Italy's already long list of UNESCO World Heritage sites such as the Colosseum and Pompeii. UNESCO noted that the new listing is not about specific recipes but about the cultural value Italians attach to gathering, teaching, cooking, and eating together.

It praised everyday practices ranging from Sunday family lunches to grandparents teaching children how to fold tortellini. These moments, the agency said, play a central role in Italy's social life and identity.

"Cooking is a gesture of love, a way in which we tell something about ourselves to others and how we take care of others," said Pier Luigi Petrillo, a member of Italy's UNESCO campaign and a law professor at Rome's La Sapienza University. He said the tradition of slowing down at mealtimes — more extended lunches, even longer dinners — is "not very common around the world."

Premier Giorgia Meloni welcomed the announcement, calling it an honor for Italians. "Because for us Italians, cuisine is not just food or a collection of recipes. It is much more: it is culture, tradition, work, wealth," she said.

Italy joins a number of countries whose culinary cultures have been recognized by UNESCO. The French "gastronomic meal" was listed in 2010, and more recent additions include Spain's Asturian cider culture, Senegal's Ceebu Jen tradition, and Brazil's cheese-making practices in Minas Gerais.

UNESCO's Intangible Heritage Committee, meeting this year in New Delhi, reviewed 53 nominations for its representative list, which already includes 788 items. Other candidates included Swiss yodelling, Bangladesh's Tangail saree weaving technique, and Chile's family circus tradition.

In its application, Italy highlighted the "sustainability and biocultural diversity" of its cuisine, simple preparations rooted in seasonal ingredients, regional variation, and efforts to avoid waste.

"For me, Italian cuisine is the best, top of the range," said pasta maker Francesco Lenzi of Rome's Osteria da Fortunata. He joked about the debate over whether spaghetti originated in China, but added, "Here we have turned noodles into a global phenomenon. Today, wherever you go in the world, everyone knows the word spaghetti. Everyone knows pizza."

Lenzi said his love for cooking was inspired by his grandmother in Camogli, who spent Sundays making ravioli by hand. "This stayed with me for many years," he said.

Tourists also notice Italy's approach to food. Mirella Pozzoli, visiting from Lombardy, said dining together is a cherished act. "It's a tradition of conviviality that you won't find anywhere else in the world."

Italy already has 13 cultural practices on UNESCO's intangible list, including Sicilian puppet theater, Cremona's violin-making tradition, and transhumance, or seasonal livestock migration.

Food-related recognitions include the 2013 listing of the Mediterranean diet — shared with several other countries — and the 2017 recognition of Neapolitan pizzaiuoli, or pizza makers. Petrillo said the latter led to a surge in accredited pizza-making schools, with enrollment jumping by more than 400 percent.

"After the UNESCO recognition, there were significant economic effects, both on tourism and the sales of products and on education and training," he said.