Pizza Margherita story

And now, for a change, let's have a sunday evening pizza together. Do as the Romans do and listen to the story (if you want to...). Even a pizza Margherita, the traditional, simple, delicious plate - that even angels come down from heaven to taste in Naples (for a soft, thick one) or in Rome (for a crisp, slender one) – has a long, long story to tell. Did you know, for instance that “La pizza Margherita”, only tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, olive oil and basil, has a birthday? Well, I assure you, it has one indeed: it dates back to the 11th of june 1889, when a famous neapolitan “pizzaiolo”, Raffaele Esposito, decided to offer to the queen of Italy, Margherita di Savoia, a special italian pizza treat, that bore the colours of the italian flag: green (basil), white (mozzarella cheese) and red (tomatoes). She loved it and asked for more... He, together with his wife, Maria Giovanna Brandi, had prepared, as you can immagine, more than one type of pizza. The traditional kind, in those long lost days, was not like today the pizza Margherita, but a simple white pizza, with grated cheese on top, all clustered with “cicinielli” (baby fish).

Margherita di Savoia, the piedomtese beauty that had descended the Boot all the way down to Naples (a place that was familiar to her like the North Pole), granted a pair of wings to the everyday meal of the neapolitan crowds... She loved the taste and simplicity of true life baked in an oven. It does not surprise the italians who know by heart the famous saying that goes like this: “La regina Margherita mangia il pollo con le dita”. Her fingers were her forks when she ate chicken! It means more than that, of course. A lady, a queen, but a woman at heart all the same. A woman who loved pizza. Just like all of us.