Italian food is the best in the world

Dedicated global gastronomy platform TasteAtlas recently released its year-end rankings, featuring the three categories World's Best Dishes, World's Best Cuisine and World's Best Local Restaurants. Needless to say, Italian cuisine was voted the best in the world, followed closely by Greek and Spanish with Japan and India rounding out the Top 5. Our country performed less well in the other rankings, with pizza margherita ranking 11th among the world's best dishes (the best being Japan's Karē Raisu) and 8th among countries with the best restaurants, a ranking where Austria triumphed instead. The ranking of the best national cuisines, on the other hand, where Italy is first, also shows the list of the best foods that international users voted for: parmesan cheese is in first place among the most appreciated Italian products, followed by Tuscan ham, Calabrian nduja (abroad they have a passion for spicy food), risotto with porcini mushrooms, and pesto alla genovese. Among the top restaurants reported by the audience are Osteria Madonnetta in Marostica in first position, Amerigo dal 1934 in Savigno, Lokanda Devetak 1870 in San Michele del Carso, and in fourth position a Milanese establishment, Trattoria Trippa, the restaurant in Porta Romana owned by Diego Caroli and chef Diego Rossi.

The first position of Italian cuisine among the world's gastronomies also represents a historical moment in which Italy enjoys enormous publicity abroad. Just as we pointed out last week, thanks to series such as The White Lotus, Romulus, The Bad Guy, and L'Amica Geniale, Italy has gained unprecedented visibility. Italian food has also found a media showcase with the program Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy, which brought recipes such as spaghetti all'assassina to (the somewhat astonished) U.S. viewers. Last month, on the other hand, it was UNESCO that gave our country the world record for recognition in the fields of gastronomy and agriculture, while in the year that now closes, reports speak of a 94 percent increase in foreign tourists, practically doubling, even though pre-pandemic tourist levels have not yet been regained. 

The Italian vibe has also triumphed in fashion: if an increasing number of international luxury brands are investing in Tuscan leather goods, for example, with LVMH opening and restoring factories to increase production of luxury handbags and shoes; a brand that has built an empire on the concept of Italianness such as Dolce & Gabbana turned Kim Kardashian into a novella Sophia Loren for its collaborative collection, for which, among other things, Kim was portrayed intent on eating a plate of spaghetti; while Pierpaolo Piccioli was crowned designer of the year and Drake wore looks inspired by Italy throughout 2022 including merch from the S. S.C. Napoli and racing jackets dedicated to Valentino Rossi. Then in September, Carlo Capasa of the CNMI had said during the opening conference of Milan Fashion Week: «If the forecast is confirmed, 2022 will see higher growth than in 2008 and the highest fashion turnover in 20 years».