a simple Italian dish associated especially but not exclusively with Naples, has become almost ubiquitous. After it had been taken to America by Italian emigrants it developed into an international food, and pizzerias have sprung up all over the world.
The name has a common origin with, and an obvious connection with, pitta. A pizza consists mainly of a flat disc of bread. This is normally the base for various toppings, and it is safe to assume that since early classical times people in the general region of the Mediterranean were at least sometimes putting a topping on their flat breads (see focaccia). Burton Anderson (1994), pointing to these precursors of pizza, goes on to say that the word pizza itself ‘was used as early as the year 997 ad at Gaeta, a port between Naples and Rome’. He continues:
Abruzzi had something called pizza in the twelfth century. Calabria made pitta or petta, Apulia pizzella or pizzetta, Sicily sfincione. Tuscany's schiacciata (for squashed) was first roasted on stones by the ancestral Etruscans. Romagna's antique piadina is slim and crunchy like the crust of pizza romana, which also seems to have preceded the napoletana.
The napoletana, i.e. the pizza of Naples, can indeed be seen, and has been so seen for well over a century, as the archetype of modern pizzas. However, even in Naples itself one would not find complete agreement about what constitutes an authentic Neapolitan pizza. To follow Anderson again:
The most basic may be called pizza all'olio e pomodoro, though it is better known as marinara because its toppings of oil, tomato, garlic, and oregano could be stowed on voyages so that sailors (marinai) of this seafaring city could make pizza away from home. The more glorified Margherita, named in honor of Italy's queen on a visit to Naples just over a century ago, combines tomato with mozzarella cheese and fresh basil leaves to symbolize the red, white, and green tricolore of the Italian flag.
Defenders of these archetypes include the twenty-six pizzerie of the Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana, whose members are pledged to uphold statutes that define ingredients, making of dough, and cooking. Each house carries a sign with an image of Pulcinella, the masked Punch of Neapolitan comedy, wielding a pizzaiolo's paddlelike peel.
To be authentic, pizzas should be made in a special wood-fired brick oven heated to a blistering 400 °C (750 °F). They have to be inserted and retrieved with a long-handled wooden peel (paddle). The sudden heat is necessary to melt and blend the topping, which very often includes mozzarella cheese, and to make the base puff up properly. This applies especially to versions with a thick topping, which acts as a barrier to heat.
Some pizzas have a filling enclosed in a folded over circle of dough. Such a pizza is properly called pizza ripieno or calzone (see calsones), although a Palermo version, with a filling of meat sauce and salami as well as a cheese and onion topping moistened with wine, retains the name pizza (di San Vito). Pitta maniata (‘kneaded’) has a dough enriched with eggs and fat, thoroughly kneaded, and enclosing a filling of hard-boiled eggs, ricotta cheese, salami, and chilli pepper. Small, individual-sized calzoni are made by folding circles of dough in half over the filling.
Pizzette are miniature pizzas which are often fried rather than baked. They are served as part of the antipasto table in Italian restaurants. Extra-large pizzas are often made rectangular and cut into portions of the same shape.
There are versions of pizza with no topping, sometimes called pizza bianca (white pizza). One such, the Tuscan pan di ramerino (rosemary bread), has no garnish save for a little rosemary. Other severely plain versions are found in Liguria, and there is a sweet but topless Easter pizza made in fancy shapes which is traditional in the Abruzzi. Such things are very close to pitta bread.
Other Mediterranean countries have traditional dishes resembling pizza. The pissaladière of Provence, topped with an onion-and-tomato mixture, a latticework of salt anchovy fillets, and olives, is sometimes made with pastry, but properly has a bread base. Incidentally, many recipes for quiche, which nowadays have a pastry base, began with one of bread. The Middle Eastern lahma bi ajeen has a base of a typical pizza dough, topped with a rich sauce of minced meat, onions, and various Middle Eastern flavourings.
In conclusion, it may fairly be said that the pizza of Naples has proved to be a world conqueror in the 20th century. It is, for instance, the most important fast food in France. To give the last word to Burton Anderson: ‘It has been said that if Naples had managed to patent the pizza it would now be among Italy's wealthiest cities instead of one of its poorest.’
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
Anderson, Burton (1994), Treasures of the Italian Table, New York: Willam Morrow.
Romer, Elizabeth (1987), Italian Pizza and Savoury Breads, London: Michaell O'Mara.
