ROME: The Italian embassy in Riyadh is celebrating the World Week of Italian Cuisine from Nov. 22-28 with a series of themed dinners celebrating the country’s famous dishes.
The selected audience includes individuals from the Saudi political, cultural and entrepreneurial scenes, the diplomatic corps in Riyadh and the Italian community living in the Kingdom.
Along with signature Italian dishes, the dinners will feature a display of excerpts from the virtual exhibition “Caruso, Di Stefano, Corelli. The legendary Italian voices.” The project by Italy’s foreign ministry was produced by the Teatro alla Scala Foundation and Museo Teatrale alla Scala in Milan, and directed by Mattia Palma.
It celebrates the 100th anniversary of the death of world famous tenor Enrico Caruso and the birth in the same year of Giuseppe Di Stefano and Franco Corelli, two unforgettable protagonists of the national and international opera scene.
The exhibition can be viewed online on teatroallascala.org and italiana.esteri.it, the portal of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs dedicated to the promotion of Italian culture, creativity and language.
The events will also celebrate Dante Alighieri on the 700th anniversary of the most prominent Italian poet’s death. The “Divine Comedy” author’s prodigious life and work will be highlighted by an installation, which will showcase the key messages of the Florentine poet’s literary immense production that still resonate to this day.
The dinners will all be hosted at the residence of Italian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Roberto Cantone.
They will also feature an exhibition by several Italian companies operating in the Kingdom, such as Montegrappa, Versace, Ferragamo and Etro.
In Dubai, a special cooking class dedicated to authentic Italian food culture — organized by the Italian embassy in cooperation with the Italian Trade Agency and the local General Consulate at La Scuola Italian cooking school at Eataly in Dubai Mall — recorded a significant turnout.
The celebration of traditional, authentic Italian food was held on Nov. 21 and focused on the iconic dish ravioli pummarola and burrata. A question and answer session was also held on the techniques and ingredients used the dishes, before attendees sat down to enjoy traditional Italian aperitivo.
Renowned for its sustainable, traceable and responsible models of consumption and production, the Italian food cultivation industry employs 1.4 million people. Italy has the largest number of certifications of origin of agri-food products in the EU.
The country’s top exported products are olive oil, coffee, pistachios, cheese, wine, pasta, processed vegetables, fish and meat.
Other popular items include free-from products, coffee, juices, dairy products, chocolates and sauces.
“Italy is known across the globe for its unique and top-quality products, and I’m also delighted to see that the Mediterranean diet is also becoming more widely recognized for its health benefits,” said Italian Ambassador to the UAE Nicola Lener.
“Italy has one of the most dynamic and advanced food and beverage industries in the world. This is thanks to our long-standing tradition in production, as well as our focus on cutting-edge technologies in the traceability of products, sustainable manufacturing and environmental protection. In fact, I’m proud to say that Italy is now home to 60,000 organic farms.”