Education in Italy is compulsory from 6 to 16 years old and is divided into five stages: kindergarten (primary school), primary school (primary school), lower secondary school (high school or media school), tertiary secondary school (secondary high school) and university (university). Italy has public and private education systems. Italian cuisine has developed over centuries of social and political changes, with roots already in the fourth century BC. Italian cuisine alone has strong influences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek and ancient Roman. Significant changes occurred with the discovery of the New World and the introduction of potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and corn, now central to cooking, but which were not introduced in quantity until the 18th century.
Italian cuisine is known for its regional diversity, abundance of flavor differences and is known to be one of the most popular in the world, with influences abroad. Italian cuisine is characterized by its simplicity, with many dishes with only four to eight ingredients. Italian cooks rely mainly on the quality of the ingredients, not the elaborate preparation. Ingredients and dishes vary by region. Many dishes that were once regional, however, proliferated with variations across the country. In 2013, Italian cuisine was classified by CNN as the best cuisine in the world.