Pizza is much more than just a Neapolitan speciality; it is a true culinary and cultural treasure, an Italian pride famous and appreciated worldwide!
To find out how pizza really came into being, we have to go back quite some time.
In Sardinia, French and Italian archaeologists have found clear evidence of bread baking dating back more than 7,000 years, and, according to some, it was leavened bread. Since ancient times, dough similar to what would become pizza was prepared and was seasoned in many different ways to flavour it.
There are several theories regarding the etymology of the term "pizza," not necessarily related to the product's origin. Here are some possible explanations:
- “pizza” may come from "pinsa" (from the Neapolitan language), the past participle of the Latin verb "pinsere" or the verb "pansere," that is, to pound, crush, press;
- it could derive from “pita”, meaning the Mediterranean and Balkan dish, in Greek πίττα, derived from πεπττος meaning "baked."
- it may originate from the Hebrew or Arabic word used to call bread or flatbread.
- the most widely accepted etymology, according to the Oxford English Dictionary (although it has not been definitively confirmed), is from the ancient Germanic word "bizzo" or "pizzo," meaning "bite" (also related to the English words "bit" and "bite"), a term imported into Italy in the mid-6th century during the invasion of the Lombards.
In any case, the first use of the word "pizza" dates back to 997 and is attested in a Latin text from the city of Gaeta.
But when was Pizza Napoletana born?
Around 1600, Neapolitan bakers (always very inventive) started to make the traditional “schiacciata di pane” (crushed bread) tastier and more flavorful. Initially, it was bread dough baked in wood-fired ovens, seasoned with garlic, lard, coarse salt and sometimes caciocavallo cheese and basil. They also shaped the oven as a half moon, to quickly allow it to reach high temperatures, 450 to 480 °C; at these temperatures, the dough rapidly bakes and dehydrates, allowing the complete “fusion” of all ingredients, flour, oil, cheese and, later on, tomato.
We need to wait, however, until the second half of the 1800s to find the first classic "tomato and mozzarella" pizza as we know it, precisely 1889, the year in which the sovereigns of Italy, King Umberto I and Queen Margherita, visit Naples. Tradition has it that Raffaele Esposito, the best pizzaiolo (pizza maker) of the time, to honour Queen Margherita, created "Pizza Margherita," garnished with tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, to represent Italy’s national colours.
The real innovation was the use of tomatoes as a topping. When tomato was brought to Europe from the Americas in the 16th century, many Europeans believed it was poisonous. It was not until the late 18th century that the cultivation of the long tomato in the Naples area was given a boost, and in the early 19th century, Neapolitan bakers began using it to season pizza. Soon, pizza became a tourist attraction when Grand Tour travellers to Naples ventured to the city's poorer areas to try local specialities.
Pizza remained a typical Neapolitan food, and a tourist attraction for Naples, until the early 1900s, when it slowly began to spread to the rest of the boot.
In the early 19th century, the first “pizzeria” (pizza restaurants) became popular in Naples as places to eat pizza at the table, comfortably seated.
Until the beginning of the 20th century, pizza and pizzerias remained a purely Neapolitan phenomenon. Then, Italian migrants, especially in the U.S., made pizza known on the streets of large metropolises, such as New York and Chicago, and in time “pizzerie” sprang up there as well. The first was opened in 1905 by Neapolitan Gennaro Lombardi in Manhattan's Little Italy.
The "Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana", founded in 1984, recognizes only “Marinara” and “Margherita Verace" and has established very specific rules that must be followed for an authentic Neapolitan pizza. Pizza must be cooked in a wood-fired oven at a temperature of 485 °C for no more than 60-90 seconds; the base must be made by hand and no rolling pin must be used, or in any case, no mechanical means are allowed for its preparation (pizzaioli make the shape of the pizza with their hands by making it "turn" with their hands).
The most famous pizza is undoubtedly the “Margherita”, but equally famous is pizza “Marinara”, garnished with tomato, garlic and oregano. Other very popular pizzas are:
“Prosciutto e Funghi” (ham and mushrooms), Capricciosa (ham, mushrooms, artichokes, black olives), Siciliana (anchovies and capers) and Suocera (Mother-in-Law), obviously the most spicy (anchovies and spicy pepper).
For Italians, pizza is serious business, so serious that we have unwritten "rules" for how pizza can or cannot be eaten. One thing for sure: you’ll never, never, never find an authentic Italian pizzeria in Italy offering pizza with pineapple as a topping or with ketchup substituting tomato. An Italian turns up his nose when he hears tourists order pizza with pineapple or sees sachets of ketchup crushed on it.
Furthermore, in Naples, and only in Naples, there is a particular way of eating pizza: we are talking about “pizza a portafoglio” (wallet pizza), a true icon of Neapolitan street food.
Wallet pizza is a small pizza that gets its name because it is taken in the hands and closed on its two sides just as if it were a wallet (for this reason, more rarely, it is called booklet pizza). In Naples, it is sold on the street by pizzerias, bakeries, pastry shops and rotisseries; it is probably the city's iconic street food. Trust me, it is perfect to calm the stomach for quite a while in case of sudden hunger.
Not everyone knows that, since 2017, the art of the Neapolitan “pizzaiolo” (pizza maker) has been part of UNESCO's intangible heritage list. UNESCO recognized "the Traditional Art of the Neapolitan Pizzaiuolo" as “part of humanity's cultural heritage, transmitted from generation to generation and continuously recreated, capable of providing the community with a sense of identity and continuity and promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity”.
So, what could be better than a pizza?
Ciao da Francesca