The UN's cultural agency on Wednesday gave foodies another reason to celebrate their pizza, pasta and tiramisu by listing Italian cooking as part of the world's “intangible” cultural heritage.

The citation didn't mention specific dishes, recipes or regional specialities, but highlighted the cultural importance Italians place on the rituals of cooking and eating.

Premier Giorgia Meloni celebrated the designation, which she said honoured Italians and their national identity.

“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 in a statement.

Italy already has 13 other cultural items on the Unesco intangible list, including two previous food-related listings: a 2013 citation for the “Mediterranean diet” that included Italy and half a dozen other countries, and the 2017 recognition of Naples’ pizza makers.

Unesco meets every year to consider adding new cultural practices or expressions onto its lists of so-called “intangible heritage.”

Other national cuisines and related cultural practice have also been added in recent years: the “cider culture” of Spain's Asturian region, the Ceebu Jen culinary tradition of Senegal, the traditional way of making cheese in Minas Gerais, Brazil. (AP)