Today Is Pizza Day: 17 January Marks World Pizza Day!
Italian pizza is considered one of the cornerstone foods of Italian cuisine and the Mediterranean diet, thanks to its balanced nutritional profile. Indeed, the wheat in the dough provides carbohydrates, the mozzarella supplies protein, the…
by Editorial team
Italian pizza is considered one of the cornerstone foods of Italian cuisine and the Mediterranean diet, thanks to its balanced nutritional profile.
Indeed, the wheat in the dough provides carbohydrates, the mozzarella supplies protein, the olive oil offers the right amount of mono- and polyunsaturated fats, while the tomato is an excellent source of lycopene, with its antioxidant properties.
This combination of nutrients makes Italian pizza a healthy food, when eaten in the right amounts!
The celebration of World Pizza Day came about thanks to an initiative by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (True Neapolitan Pizza Association) and other players in the sector, coinciding with pizza's proclamation as a UNESCO Heritage, as a way of paying tribute to and safeguarding a food that is a true flagship of Italian gastronomy!
The choice of 17 January as the date is no coincidence, but stems from an age-old, thoroughly Neapolitan custom: it seems that on this day, Neapolitan pizzaioli (pizza makers) used to close their shops, taking a day off to gather together and light a bonfire in thanks to their patron saint, Sant'Antonio Abate (Saint Anthony the Abbot).
World Pizza Day is celebrated in every corner of the planet, with enthusiasts organising events and tastings, and experimenting with new recipes.
Some restaurants in Italy offer tastings of special and unusual types of pizza, prepared by executive pizza chefs. In the United States, meanwhile, events range from eating competitions to pizza delivery marathons. In many cities around the world, pizzaioli compete to create the most creative and delicious pizzas using unusual ingredients, trying to surprise diners with unique and innovative flavour combinations.
This day is also the perfect opportunity to discover some fascinating facts about this much-loved dish.
For instance, did you know that the most expensive pizza ever made contains caviar, Norwegian red prawns and gold leaf? A real treat for the most demanding of palates!
Another fascinating fact concerns the world record for the largest pizza ever made: in 2012, in Rome, a team of pizzaioli created a pizza measuring over 40 metres in diameter! In Naples, in 2017, New Year was celebrated with a record-breaking pizza stretching an impressive 1.8 km, made by an “army” of pizzaioli.
Who knows what curious new developments await us in 2024!!!
