Casa Artusi Expands Scientific Team to Bolster Italian Cuisine After UNESCO Recognition

Casa Artusi, the foundation based in Forlimpopoli, Italy, is taking new steps to support Italian cuisine with a strong scientific foundation after its recognition by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The foundation’s mission is to preserve and advance the legacy of Pellegrino Artusi, considered the “father” of Italian cuisine. Artusi’s influential manual, “La Scienza in cucina e l’Arte di mangiar bene,” published in 1891 and translated into more than 10 languages, played a key role in uniting Italy at the table and contributed to the unification of the country’s language and culture.

Following UNESCO’s recognition of Italian cuisine for its identity model based on diversity and exchange, Casa Artusi has renewed its Scientific Committee. The new structure is now called a Scientific Community, reflecting a broader and more dynamic approach. The committee has expanded to include national and international experts from universities and research institutions in Italy and abroad. This expansion aims to provide stronger scientific support for the foundation’s projects in the post-UNESCO era.

Andrea Segrè, president of Casa Artusi, explained that the shift to a Scientific Community is intended to create a more open, participatory, and dynamic model. He described it as a living space for discussion, cooperation, and shared vision. The community is designed to be flexible and able to renew itself over time while offering qualified contributions to the foundation’s activities.

The coordination of the Scientific Community has been entrusted to Massimo Montanari, an internationally recognized scholar in food history and professor emeritus of Medieval History at the University of Bologna. Montanari has played a central role in Casa Artusi’s 18 years of activity and was one of the main scientific curators behind UNESCO’s recognition of Italian cuisine.

Alongside Montanari are two long-standing members: Alberto Capatti, a leading historian of European cuisine and gastronomy, and Giovanna Frosini, a linguist specializing in food language studies at the University for Foreigners of Siena. The rest of the committee consists of new members who bring fresh perspectives from various disciplines. These include Luca Falasconi, an expert in agricultural policy and food economics at the University of Bologna; Elisabetta Moro, professor of cultural anthropology at Suor Orsola Benincasa University in Naples; Monica Alba, researcher in Italian linguistics at the University of Urbino Carlo Bo; Gianfranco Marrone, professor of semiotics and food language at the University of Palermo; Grazia Menechella, professor of contemporary Italian literature at the University of Wisconsin–Madison; Anabela Ferreira, professor of Portuguese language and culture at the University of Bologna’s Forlì campus; Nicola Perullo, philosopher and rector at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo; and Rosalba Lanciotti, professor of food microbiology at the University of Bologna.

The creation of this network is seen as a significant step for Casa Artusi as it faces new challenges following UNESCO recognition. The goal is to strengthen its cultural and project-based role both nationally and internationally. By rethinking its Scientific Committee as a community rather than a closed body, Casa Artusi aims to foster ongoing dialogue among experts from history, anthropology, linguistics, philosophy, semiotics, food science and technology, economics, and food policy.

The term “community” highlights a living group with shared skills, relationships, and responsibilities. This aligns with Casa Artusi’s vision as a place where gastronomic culture is practiced as well as studied. The new structure is intended to be an open space for continuous exchange among diverse fields—historical, anthropological, economic, nutritional, agricultural, social—in response to evolving needs.

According to Andrea Segrè, this approach strengthens Casa Artusi’s mission as a center for research and cultural development that can interpret both present and future trends in Italian gastronomic culture while honoring Pellegrino Artusi’s legacy. The foundation continues its work from Forlimpopoli with renewed commitment to scientific rigor and cultural outreach following UNESCO’s acknowledgment of Italian cuisine’s global significance.