The 19 Greatest Italian Exports of All Time

Cars, coffee, cheese and a flatbread: one country's contribution to everybody else's daily routine.

1. 1
   Pizza

   Left Naples with emigrants, came back as a global industry, and is now cooked in nearly every country.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Tiramisu

   Coffee, mascarpone and cocoa in a dish invented in the 1960s and treated as ancient.
   914pts
3. 3
   Renaissance art

   Two centuries of Florentine and Venetian painting that still set what Western galleries hang.
   768pts
4. 4
   Lamborghini

   Founded by a tractor manufacturer who thought he could build a better grand tourer, and did.
   731pts
5. 5
   Vespa

   The 1946 scooter that put post-war Italy on two wheels and every European film set on location.
   705pts
6. 6
   Prosecco

   The Veneto sparkling wine that overtook champagne on volume by refusing to be precious.
   632pts
7. 7
   Nutella

   Piedmontese hazelnut spread invented when cocoa was scarce, now sold in over 160 countries.
   548pts
8. 8
   Parmigiano-Reggiano

   Aged at least twelve months, made in a protected zone, and used as collateral by Italian banks.
   448pts
9. 9
   Ferrari

   Maranello's racing team that sells road cars to fund itself, and the most recognised badge in motorsport.
   448pts
10. 10
    Espresso

    Pressurised coffee invented for factory workers in a hurry, now the base unit of café menus worldwide.
    448pts
11. 11
    Aperol Spritz

    Orange, bitter and low in alcohol, exported from Venetian terraces to every summer menu.
    448pts
12. 12
    Cappuccino

    Espresso and steamed milk, drunk in Italy before eleven and everywhere else at any hour.
    448pts
13. 13
    Olive oil

    The fat that defines an entire cuisine and half the diets recommended by doctors.
    448pts
14. 14
    Panettone

    Milanese Christmas bread that takes three days to rise and arrives in a box the size of a hat.
    448pts
15. 15
    Fiat 500

    The tiny 1957 city car that motorised a country and never really went out of fashion.
    329pts
16. 16
    Mozzarella

    Stretched fresh curd, best eaten within a day, and the reason pizza pulls apart in strings.
    329pts
17. 17
    Gelato

    Denser and warmer than ice cream, churned slowly with less air and more flavour.
    183pts
18. 18
    Opera

    Born in Florence around 1600 and still sung in Italian by singers who speak none.
    183pts
19. 19
    Pasta

    Hundreds of shapes, each with rules about which sauce it may be served with.
    183pts