Post No. 39. Pizza. Pizza is a savory dish of Italian origin, consisting of a usually round, flattened base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various ingredients (anchovies, olives, meat, etc.) baked at a high temperature, traditionally in a wood-fired oven.

Food similar to pizza have been made since the Neolithic Age. Records of people adding other ingredients to bread to make it more flavorful can be found throughout ancient history. In the 6^th century BC, the Persian soldiers of Achaemenid Empire during the rule King Darius I baked flatbread with cheese and dates on top of their battle shields.

An early reference to a pizza-like food occurs in the Aeneid, when Celaeno queen of the Harpies, foretells that the Trojans would not find peace until they are forced by hunger to eat their tables (Book III). IN Book VII, Aeneas and his men are served a meal that include round cakes (like pita bread) topped with cooked vegetables. When they eat the bread, they realize that these are the “tables” prophesied by Celaeno.

The term pizza was first recorded in the 10^th century in a Latin manuscript from the Southern Italian town of Gaeta in Lazio on the border with Campania, then still part of the Byzantine Empire, in 997 AD. Modern Pizza was invented in Naples, and the dish and its variants have since become popular in many countries.

The Pizza Marguerita, the archetypal pizza    is a typical Neapolitan pizza, made with San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, salt and extra-virgin olive oil. Traditionally it is made with flor di latte (cow’s milk mozzarella) rather than buffalo mozzarella.

A pizza made with the same toppings was already present in Naples between 1796 and 1810 although it probably was not called “Margherita”. It was described in 1830 in the book “Napoli, contorni e dintorni” written by Riccio.

A widespread belief says that in June 1889 the pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito, Pizzeria Brandi’s chef, invented a dish called “ Pizza Margherita” in honor of the Queen of Italy, Marguerita of Savoy and the Italian unification, since toppings are tomato ( red), mozzarella ( white) and basil ( green), representing the same colors of the national flag of Italy. 

This contemporary legend holds that the archetypal pizza, "pizza Margherita" was invented when the Royal Palace of Capodimonte commissioned Esposito the Neapolitan pizzaiolo to create a pizza in honor of the visiting Queen Marguerita. Of the three different pizzas he created, the Queen strongly preferred a pizza swathed in the colors of the Italian flag. Supposedly, this kind of pizza was then named after the queen.

Queen Margherita, having never had pizza before, so enjoyed the dish that she had her head of table services send Esposito a letter to commend his pizzas, stating that they ‘were found to be delicious”. Esposito used this recommendation to successfully promote his restaurant, naming the pizza most enjoyed by the Queen, “Pizza Marguerita”. 

Because of Esposito’s experiments with ingredients and presentation, and his successful preparation of the dish for Queen Marguerita, it is suggested by some that Esposito was the father of the modern pizza. Esposito’s restaurant still exists, although the name has been changed to “Pizzeria di Brandi”, and the royal letter favoring Esposito’s pizza is on display in the restaurant.

The Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (True Neapolitan Pizza Association) is a non-profit organization founded in 1984 with headquarters in Naples that aims to promote traditional Neapolitan pizza. 

In 2009, upon Italy’s request, Neapolitan pizza was registered with the European Union as a Traditional Specialty Guaranteed dis, and in 2017 the art of its making was included on UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage. ( Article and Photo were based on Wikipedia article)