Die Authentizität der italienischen Küche entsteht an den Grenzen

Food culture is one of the central dimensions of Italian identity, or Italianità. A multifaceted and contested concept, Italianità is both a cultural myth with tangible effects and a continuously evolving field shaped by diverse practices, representations, and institutions. Examining both Italians at the table—the history and contemporary practice of food culture—and Italianità at the table—the representation of Italianness through food products and dietary practices—reveals the close relationship between food, identity, and belonging. This relationship is not rooted in an immutable essence. Rather, Italian food culture reflects the complex and uneven formation of traditions that are continuously reinterpreted, adapted, and reinvented. The development of a global food industry and marketing has not simply erased these traditions; instead, they are continually rediscovered, repackaged, and given new meanings. Because of its strong symbolic dimension, food provides a particularly revealing lens through which to situate Italian identity within global supply chains and the dynamic between the global and the local. At local, regional, national, and international levels, Italianità is constructed through media, discourses, practices, and institutions. Food rituals and symbolic representations are particularly important in this process, creating a space where tradition is simultaneously preserved and recreated. The boundaries of “Italian cuisine” are therefore culturally defined, fluid, nuanced, and continually contested. At the same time, identity emerges through both continuity and difference. Italianità is constituted not only through shared practices and a sense of common belonging, but also through distinctions and distances between regions, cities, and communities, as well as between migrants and their new environments. Culinary identity is consequently strengthened through encounters with other cultures and experiences. Italian identity, like its cuisine, has always been hybrid and creolized, shaped by Italy’s position at the heart of the Mediterranean and by continuous exchanges, negotiations, and encounters with Europe and the wider world.