Realistically, one can find lots of great pizza in pizzerias, restaurants, and shops, located in towns and cities all over Italy. However, if you are a serious pizza-lover and foodie who is looking to vacation in Italy and experience the dish in its birthplace then there are two key destinations and two main camps when it comes to Italian pizza: Naples and Rome.
Some credit the very invention of pizza itself to Campania, the region in which Naples is located, though (as you might imagine when it comes to such a beloved and iconic food) its origins are actually highly debated and there are various origin tales. As similar foods to pizza have been made since the Neolithic Age, and flatbreads appear in writings about the Ancient Persians and Ancient Greeks, it is understandable that the beginnings of pizza are steeped in confusion. However, the modern iteration of a flatbread that would evolve into the pizza as we know it today is commonly attributed to developments in the 18th and 19th centuries in Naples. Browse our villas in Campania and come try pizza in its birthplace on you next vacation – a proper foodie pilgrimage!
Among the various origin tales, the most enduringly popular tells of Queen Margherita of the Kingdom of Italy being served a simple pizza with tomato sauce, basil, and mozzarella, designed to bring to mind the colours of the Italian flag, by a local entrepreneur in Naples while she toured the country in 1889. As such, this pizza was named for the queen and became the famous and beloved Pizza Margherita that remains an enduring favourite to this day and from which endless other variations were born. Key to this supposed first pizza and pizzas, in general, are two ingredients: tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. Tomatoes did not actually come to Europe from the New World until the 19th century and mozzarella, though produced in some form since the 12th century was not widely made in its birthplace of Campania until the 1800s. As such, the pizza as we know it was not possible until the 19th century. The type of pizza most commonly served in Campania today has a thicker, fluffier crust, is slightly smaller in diameter, and is more filling. For those who have found a villa in Campania, it is a must, particularly as the mozzarella di bufala here is especially fresh and delicious and a distinctive local product that has been given protected geographic status under the EU.
However, if you are interested in finding a vacation rental in Rome and exploring her abundant (or, rather, endless) sights but are still quite keen on getting in a pizza fix (or two, or three) to keep you fuelled for the rest of your adventures, you'll find a slightly different but equally delicious variation on the beloved dish. The Roman take on the pizza tends to be larger in diameter on average, paper-thin, delightfully crispy, and less filling. It is the perfect thing to snack on with a glass of wine or a beer in a sunny piazza, on a hot summer day, as you discover some of what the stunning Eternal City has to offer and check off another major pizza destination that is a must for the seasoned pizza-lovers of the world.
So, if you are a person who really does love your pizza, whether you prefer it crispy and light or like it more chewy and filling, be sure to plan a vacation in Italy and come to taste this global favourite in the very place that it was first invented over a hundred years ago!
Among the various origin tales, the most enduringly popular tells of Queen Margherita of the Kingdom of Italy being served a simple pizza with tomato sauce, basil, and mozzarella, designed to bring to mind the colours of the Italian flag, by a local entrepreneur in Naples while she toured the country in 1889. As such, this pizza was named for the queen and became the famous and beloved Pizza Margherita that remains an enduring favourite to this day and from which endless other variations were born. Key to this supposed first pizza and pizzas, in general, are two ingredients: tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. Tomatoes did not actually come to Europe from the New World until the 19th century and mozzarella, though produced in some form since the 12th century was not widely made in its birthplace of Campania until the 1800s. As such, the pizza as we know it was not possible until the 19th century. The type of pizza most commonly served in Campania today has a thicker, fluffier crust, is slightly smaller in diameter, and is more filling. For those who have found a villa in Campania, it is a must, particularly as the mozzarella di bufala here is especially fresh and delicious and a distinctive local product that has been given protected geographic status under the EU.
However, if you are interested in finding a vacation rental in Rome and exploring her abundant (or, rather, endless) sights but are still quite keen on getting in a pizza fix (or two, or three) to keep you fuelled for the rest of your adventures, you'll find a slightly different but equally delicious variation on the beloved dish. The Roman take on the pizza tends to be larger in diameter on average, paper-thin, delightfully crispy, and less filling. It is the perfect thing to snack on with a glass of wine or a beer in a sunny piazza, on a hot summer day, as you discover some of what the stunning Eternal City has to offer and check off another major pizza destination that is a must for the seasoned pizza-lovers of the world.
So, if you are a person who really does love your pizza, whether you prefer it crispy and light or like it more chewy and filling, be sure to plan a vacation in Italy and come to taste this global favourite in the very place that it was first invented over a hundred years ago!
