Italian cuisine began developing as early as the 4th century BC, evidenced by a Roman mosaic from the Villa Romana del Casale in Sicily depicting a banquet during a hunting trip. The first known Italian food writer was Archestratus, a Greek Sicilian from Syracuse who wrote a poem emphasizing top quality and seasonal ingredients.
Arabs introduced spinach, almonds, rice, citrus fruits, pistachios, sugarcane, and durum wheat used to make pasta after conquering Sicily in the 9th century. These ingredients became foundational elements of southern Italian cooking traditions that persist today.
Apulia produces more olive oil than any other region in Italy. This region also showcases unique dishes like arancini and cassata reflecting Greek, Spanish, Jewish, Maghrebi, and Arab influences.
Italian cuisine generates an economic turnover of more than €200 billion worldwide according to recent estimates. Counterfeit activity known as Italian Sounding is estimated to generate €55 billion annually despite being difficult to classify as strictly illegal.
Neapolitan pizza was registered with the European Union as a traditional speciality guaranteed dish in 2009. Its art of making was included on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage in 2017.