Neapolitan pizza-making: a UNESCO-recognised art

The UNESCO acknowledgement was much longed for by the whole city. An international petition was launched and promoted since 2015 by the politician and former Ministry of Agriculture Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio and the Neapolitan pizza associations (after the rejection of a first application in 2011 for bureaucratic reasons). The petition gathered many famous supporters. But what exactly does UNESCO recognition for Neapolitan pizza mean? And how will it effect the world-acclaimed culinary masterpiece?

First of all, let’s be clear: it is not the pizza itself that’s been recognized by UNESCO. Pizza Napoletana is already strictly regulated and certified by Italian regulations to include specific ingredients and must be cooked in a wood oven, while the Pizza Margherita is protected by the EU’s TSG certification. Instead, the acknowledgment refers to the art of the Neapolitan pizzaiuolo, which is ‘a culinary practice consisting of four different phases relating to the preparation of the dough and its baking in a wood-fired oven’. The practice originated in Naples, where around 3,000 pizzaiuoli now live and perform, and plays a key role in fostering social gatherings and intergenerational exchanges. Knowledge and skills are primarily transmitted in the bottega (shops) of the pizzaiuolo, where young apprentices can observe their master at work.

The city is just as proud of its pizza-makers as it is of its cherished pizza. Born as a humble, cheap street food to fill the stomach and satisfy the taste buds, through the years Neapolitan pizza conquered the world and gave birth to many different variations, thanks to its makers who left the city to try their luck elsewhere in Italy or abroad – thus spreading their art across the globe. Over the last ten years the world of pizza in Italy has seen a massive rise in popularity, with the improvement of rising techniques, better quality ingredients and the achievement of recognised culinary status. Potentially threatened by the success of different kinds of ‘modern pizza’ – such as the Northern-style, ‘gourmet’ pizza served in single slices, each of them carefully plated like a haute cuisine dish with the finest ingredients – the Neapolitan pizzaiuoli reacted and were able to keep their beloved pizza as a food of the people, at the same time improving the average quality and making it even more delicious.

‘The art of Neapolitan pizzaiuoli has been acknowledged by UNESCO, valuing its origins and rediscovering the skill of the Neapolitan pizza-makers,’ said Ciro Oliva, a young and highly acclaimed pizzaiuolo. ‘It’s an art which, instead of becoming extinct over the years, has grown exponentially. The credit certainly goes to the pizza craftsmen who, with love, passion and innovation, continue this extraordinary job, but most of all we have to thank all those who passed on the required skills from generation to generation.’

Indeed, the main result of the UNESCO recognition will hopefully be exactly this: revitalised pride, collaboration and commitment to make Neapolitan pizza tastier than ever.