X WEEK OF ITALIAN CUISINE IN THE WORLD 2025 – Italian Cooking: Health, Culture and Innovation

Throughout the month of November, the Embassy will present a rich program for the 10th Edition of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World, one of the most successful initiatives promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and by the Italian diplomatic network. The event is particularly significant in view of the vote that will take place in New Delhi next December during the meeting by the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage: Italy’s ambition is to have Italian cuisine included in the list.

The 2025 theme, Italian Cuisine: Living Culture between Tradition and Innovation, Health and Sustainability, will be at the center of several events organized in collaboration with Italian and local institutions. The initiative draws inspiration from the efforts of the United Nations Assembly during the Fourth High-Level Meeting on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases. Healthy and nutritious eating has always been a cornerstone of Italian cuisine, offering key insights for the diets of top athletes whose performance depends heavily on proper nutritional balance. Italy is also a global leader in innovation and research applied to the agri-food sector and food processing. Choosing Italian cuisine made with high-quality ingredients means opting for excellence and wellbeing.

PROGRAMME:

~~ 12^th of November, 2025, at 18:00: in collaboration with the Cyprus University of Technology, Dr Dimitris Tsaltas, Professor from the Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science, we are pleased to welcome Dr Paola Pittia, Professor of Food Science and Technology at the University of Teramo and President of the European non-profit ISEKI Food Association. She will deliver a lecture in English focused on the relationship between traditional and natural foods—highly appreciated in both Cyprus and Italy—and new innovative technologies, also from a sustainability perspective:

>> “Italian Foods: a Scientific View of Tradition, Culture and Modern Research. The event is open to the public and will take place at CUT/TEPAK, Tassos Papadopoulos Building, Lecture Theater 2, 1 Thermidor Street, Limassol. PDF brochure attached.

~~ 17^th of November, 2025 –  09:00 – 13:00. In collaboration with IIISSS/Sport4Impact (Italy) and UCLan University, UNESCO Chair, co-directed by Professor Efstathios Christodoulides

>> Workshop with the presence of Dr. Cristina Angeloni, Professor of Biochemistry, Department of Sciences for the Quality of Life of the University of Bologna, on the theme Food and Sport, and the participation of several Cypriot and Italian personalities from the sports world as well as nutrition experts, who will take part at the event in person or remotely. The seminar is open to all interested members of the public and will take place in room CY018, University of Central Lancashire, UCLan Cyprus, University Ave. 12-14, 7080 Pyla

~~18^th –19^th of November, 2025. In collaboration with the Cyprus University of Technology, School of Tourism Management, Hospitality and Entrepreneurship, a special Italian cooking class will be held by Chef Maria Cristina Cecchini Saulini, who will travel from Italy to share her extensive knowledge and the secrets of Italian cuisine with students and faculty members. The class will be followed by a workshop and, on the following day, by the preparation of a full, genuinely Italian meal by the students under the careful supervision of the chef.

~~ 4 December 2025 – from 18:30. To conclude the review on a lively note, the ITA/ICE Agency – Italian Trade Agency in Beirut invites you to the AlphaMega Lakatamia, Cafe’ Area, Spyrou Trikouti 16, 2311 Nicosia for: “Italian Taste in Cyprus – Italian Food and Italian Wine Pairing“, with the presence of a sommelier, who will give information on Italian wines distributed on the Cypriot market and their pairing with Italian products. Free admission.

OTHER EVENTS

To enrich the program of the X Week of Italian Cuisine, we inform you that the Cyprus Committee of the Dante Alighieri Society, in collaboration with the Terra Santa School Institute, Nicosia will organize a series of parallel events:

1. Let’s knead Christmas: Cooking Workshop at Terrasanta college, with Chef Lucia Grasso of Aglio Olio e Peperoncino: Chef Lucia prepares traditional Italian Christmas cookies together with the children, while teaching them new Italian words related to cooking. The cookies will be baked in the oven. A small party will follow
2. Collection and publication on social media of 10 family recipes, with related photos in the name of the Italian tradition
3. Collection and publication on social media of recipes of traditional Sicilian desserts
4. Collection and publication of recipes from the Roman Tradition
5. Let’s learn the acronyms of good Italian foods: DOP DOC IGP – will be published on social posts with the description of the acronyms.
6. Photographs of the various types of pasta with descriptions accompanied by children’s drawings
7. Pazza Pizza in Piazza : in collaboration with Filomena Pizzeria, Larnaca. Pizza in the street with Italian music. Details will follow.
8. Italian in the Kitchen: Specialized Italian language course with practical tests: preparation of a traditional Italian recipe and tasting test of Italian wines.