With a very nice tweet, UNESCO has congratulated Italy for this good news, making all the 192 million pizzas baked in a month a very special treat.
The art of Neapolitan ‘Pizzaiuolo’ just inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Congratulations, #Italy! #IntangibleHeritage #12COMhttps://t.co/z6xL98TZk4 pic.twitter.com/HmANxOadG7
— UNESCO (@UNESCO) December 7, 2017
But where does pizza come from? In Capodimonte you can still eat from the bakery that first cooked the Margherita, the famous pizza with just some tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella, and a little basil on top.
Here, in this bakery, in 1889 during the summer the pizza chef Raffaele Esposito of Brandi pizzeria made different types of pizza for queen Margherita of Savoia. She had to choose between: a white pizza with lard, basil, pepper and pecorino; or with tomato, anchovies, garlic, oregano and oil; tomato, mozzarella, basil, oil and pecorino; fried calzone with ricotta and “cicoli” (a meat and lard preparation typical of Naples) just like the Eighteenth century tradition. This last type is now called “fried pizza” and can be eaten everywhere in Naples and around the world. We recommend going to Zia Esterina in Naples.
It can be easily deducted from nowadays menus that the queen preferred the now-called Margherita: tomato, mozzarella, basil, oil and pecorino. Because yes, the real Margherita has also pecorino, and this makes it so delicious when eaten in the capital of pizza, Naples.
Next year will be the “2018 Italian Food Year“, as the minister of Tourism and Cultural Heritage, Dario Franceschini, announced this summer, and the pizza fair, ChePizza! took place in Milan in October, so it seems that this award came just in time.
For Italians, pizza is a serious thing. We really care about the preparation of the ingredients, looking for fresh and local tomatoes, mozzarella and other typical ingredients. We like it rich or simple, like the Marinara, which has only tomato sauce and garlic. But the base is something pizza chefs really look after. Some pizzerias make the batter rise for 24 hours, some 48 hours and some even 72 hours, making a very light and airy pizza crust.
One of Naples most famous pizzeria is Sorbillo, which has opened other restaurants in Milan and even in New York! His pizza is made with local and Italian products, sourdough starter yeast and 83 years of pizza making.
Another famous place in Naples is the Antica Pizzeria da Michele, where the batter is left rising for 24 hours and they make only two types: Margherita and Marinara. Both this place and Sorbillo are characterized by a very, and I mean very, long queue! One hour wait is the rule for both pizzerias but it’s worth the wait!
Now that you’re hungry, booking a flight for Naples or ordering a pizza are the next things you should do.
