A slice of Italian pizza? No, a delicious UNESCO jewel

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Sauce on pizza

Today, traditional Neapolitan pizza has been inscribed in UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Flour, water, salt, yeast: four ingredients for the simple, tasty Neapolitan pizza and for its worldwide success. Today, in South Korea, the UN Cultural Body’s World Heritage Committee has inscribed the traditional unique pizza of Southern Italy and the original art of its Pizzaiuoli in its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The Committee will terminate its work and officially ratify its decisions next Saturday, but it’s already time to celebrate… especially for the about 2 million people who have signed a petition to support this Italian application. And, of course, for all the lucky people who were in Naples when happy pizza-makers have handed out free pizza on the streets.

 

 

It’s since 2000 that Neapolitan Pizzaiuoli have asked for this recognition

The BBC explains:

“Pizzaiuolo has been handed down for generations, Unesco said, and encompasses the social ritual of songs, stories and gestures that takes place between pizza makers and diners in working class Neapolitan neighbourhoods. Italy had argued that the practice was part of a unique cultural and gastronomic tradition.”

 

 

In Naples, people used to prepare and eat tomato pasta and pizza nearly 300 years ago. According to tradition, instead, it was in 1889 that Raffaele Esposito created the modern classic pizza Margherita. Did you know that its name comes from the Italian Queen Margherita di Savoia? Actually, pizza Margherita has only three colors: red tomatoes, white Mozzarella and green basil – the same of the national Italian flag.

Congratulations, Italy!

 

Video credits: AFP News Agency and France 24 English, via Youtube