Yes to the candidacy of the Italian art of opera as intangible heritage of humanity, no to that of Italian espresso coffee: this is the decision taken by the Italian Commission of UNESCO. So it will be the Italian opera singing to arrive to the Unesco Intergovernmental Committee for the 2023 cycle that will have to decide the new insertions in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The press release underlines that the candidacy of espresso coffee "between culture, rituals, sociality and literature in emblematic communities from Venice to Naples" has been highly appreciated. Intangible cultural heritage is the set of oral traditions, expressions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festivities, knowledge and practices that concern the relationship between man-nature and man-universe.

Italy will also be present in the 2023 cycle with a transnational candidacy on traditional systems of irrigation led by Austria with the participation also of Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Holland and Switzerland. "With the candidacy of Italian opera singing, Italy aims at the recognition of one of its most authentic and original cultural expressions," commented the Minister of Culture, Dario Franceschini.

"This candidacy," he noted, "comes at a time when the images of the Odessa Opera chorus singing the 'Va, pensierò' from Giuseppe Verdi's Nabucco in the street under the Ukrainian flag are still sharp in our eyes. It is a proof of how much the expression of Italian opera singing is authentically an integral part of the cultural heritage of humanity, which turns to it in the darkest moments to find light, strength and beauty".

The candidacy is the result of a long work undertaken by the Ministry of Culture. The candidacy recognizes the requests of the "Committee for the Safeguarding of the Art of Italian Opera Singing" to which have adhered, among others, the Fondazione Teatro Alla Scala in Milan, the Accademia Nazionale Santa Cecilia in Rome, the Associazione dei Teatri Italiani di Tradizione and Assolirica.