Pizza Margherita

Pizza Margherita is a typical Neapolitan pizza, made with San Marzano tomatoes (never sauce), mozzarella fior di latte, fresh basil, salt and extra-virgin olive oil. Together with Pizza Marinara is the most popular Italian pizza.

It represents a worldwide famous icon of the Italian cultural and culinary heritage.

A widespread belief says that in June 1889 the pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito, Pizzeria Brandi's chef, invented a dish called "Pizza Margherita" in honor the Queen of Italy, Margherita of Savoy, and the Italian unification, since toppings are tomato (red), mozzarella (white) and basil (green), representing the same colors of the national flag of Italy.

The legend of pizza Margherita is considered a false history, as a pizza made with the same toppings was already present in Naples between 1796 and 1810, although it probably was not called "Margherita". In 1830, in the book Napoli, contorni e dintorni, written by Riccio it was described a pizza with tomato, mozzarella and basil. In 1849 Emanuele Rocco recorded different pizza toppings like basil, tomatoes and thin slices of mozzarella; the mozzarella was thinly sliced, and arranged with a flower-shape over the tomato souce, along with the basil leaves: this may be the real origin of the name Margherita (meaning daisy).

In 1866 Francesco De Bourcard, writing about the Naples traditions, described the most pizza toppings at that time, included the ones called today pizza marinara, pizza margherita and calzone:

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