Neapolitan pizza-making gets UNESCO cultural heritage status

NAPLES, Italy: Neapolitan’s distinct art of making pizza was recently featured on the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage, recognized by UNESCO.

The unique way of cooking pizza involves twirling dough and baking it off in a wood-fired brick oven.

Being one of 33 traditional practices from around the world, Neapolitan’s pizza-making got recognition from the United Nations to be preserved and included on the organization’s list of different “forms of expression” that are valuable to the humanity.

Neapolitan’s pizza chefs believe making it requires special skills and knowledge that have been passed down from generations to generations.

The one-of-a-kind list that was introduced in 2003 is dedicated in honoring rituals existing in various cultures of the world that have immense importance and are transferred to people from their ancestors.

Other list winners include Indian ritual of Kumbh Mela bathing, Bosnian wood-carving, Al-Qatt Al-Asiri (interior wall decoration made by Saudi women) and Bangladeshi Shital Pati (art of weaving mats and bedspreads).