Senior figures from Italy’s business and political circles will meet this Friday 14th November in London to promote the presentation of a petition to UNESCO –‐ for the adding of Neapolitan pizza to a list designed to protect cultural assets from disappearing.

Key attendees include the petition’s author –‐ Italy’s former Agriculture and Environment Minister Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, Franco Manna, President and Founder of Rossopomodoro and Leonardo Simonelli, President of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in London.

The event, to be held at Rossopomodoro’s Covent Garden restaurant, will begin at 6pm with presentations regarding the petition followed by authentic Neapolitan pizza and other delicacies from the Rossopomodoro kitchens.

UNESCO’s ‘List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding’ is ‘composed of intangible heritage elements that concerned communities and State Parties consider require urgent measures to keep them alive.’

‘Recognition by UNESCO would protect the pizza and the economy associated with it’ says Scanio, stating that inferior products that use Italian names to suggest authenticity are not only sub–‐standard, but threaten Italy’s economy. False ‘Italian–‐sounding’ products (in latest estimates given by Italian Farming Association Coldiretti) are estimated to potentially cost Italy 300,000 jobs, with turnover in this sector having already reached 60 Billion Euros.

For the full petition on change.org: http://goo.gl/RxBsmR

For further information on the UNESCO list: http://goo.gl/FpN6gj