L'Arte della Pizza

When we think about pizza we usually think deep dish, thin and crispy, the works, extra cheese, Canadian bacon, pepperoni and even pineapple.

For many Americans, pizza is a quick meal shared with friends after a Friday night football game or a snack delivered to accompany a late night movie. But if you are visiting Rome, you will definitely have the opportunity to try Italian style pizza and you will quickly learn that the art of pizza is an important part of Italian cuisine.

There seems to be a pizza place on every street in Rome and it's not unusual to stand in front of one pizzeria and see another one on the next corner. Signs advertising "Pizza al Taglio," or tailored pizza, are all over the city and are probably the best places to try a variety of Roman pizzas. The small deli-like pizza places display several types of extra-large rectangle pizzas and you choose which one and how much you want. It's not unusual to find pizza with potatoes and rosemary, zucchini and cheese or the pizza we typically think of with tomato sauce and mozzarella. While pizza recipes date back to more than three thousand years ago, the pizza with tomatoes and mozzarella, called the Margherita in Italy, is a fairly modern combination.

Mozzarella was first introduced at the fall of the Roman Empire when the Longobards invaded the south of Italy. They brought buffaloes with them, which provided the milk to make mozzarella cheese.

As essential as tomatoes may seem to Italian cuisine, the fruit isn't even native to Europe. Tomatoes didn't arrive to Italy until the discovery of the New World. Europeans were first suspicious of the fruit thinking it may be deadly, but the Neapolitans welcomed the tomato and made it an essential ingredient for pizza. Neapolitan pizza maker Raffaele Esposito named the mozzarella and cheese pizza after Her Majesty Queen Margherita in the nineteenth century because it was her preferred recipe. You can find the Margherita in just about every pizza place in Rome, but if you would like to try Neapolitan pizza, Pizza RË is a restaurant that offers authentic pizza alla Napoletana.

With three locations in Rome (Via di Ripetta 14 near Piazza Del Popolo, Via Oslavia 39a near Piazza Mazzini and Via Lucullo 22 near Via Veneto) travelers looking to try Neapolitan pizza can eat lunch for about $10 (L. 20.000) per person.

The round shape of Neapolitan pizza isn't the only thing that distinguishes it from the Roman pizza according to Pizza RË manager Massimo Gambini, "The Neapolitan pizza is richer and more complete."

Whether it's publicity, bias or just plain truth that makes Gambini say this about Pizza RË, Roman pizzaiuolo Emiliano Paladini of the Panificio Dal Sor Giovanni is equally proud of his pizza. "Our pizza is good," third generation pizza maker Paladini explains, "Our stuff is fresh, it's not like the packaged stuff that other places use." The Panificio located at Via del Governo Vecchio 29 offers a kind of pizza that is unlike most places in Rome.

When entering the Panificio it may seem like you are entering a sort of deli mixed with a small grocery store. Containers of beets, black olives, tomatoes, peppers, cheese, mushrooms, artichoke salad, meats, lettuce and basil fill the glass display cooler and jars of tomato sauce, bags of pasta and assorted beverages line the walls. Customers choose the fillings and Paladini cuts open pieces of white pizza bread and stuffs them with the ingredients.

While Paladini claims that the fame of his pizza is due to its freshness, he also admits that the history of the place is quite significant. "They used to take bread to the jail, the train stations, the soup kitchens, the restaurants," Paladini recounts a story passed down from World War II. "So now everyone knows the name." Opened in 1914 by Emiliano's grandfather Ugo Paladini, the Panificio became famous in the neighborhood during the war because the Paladini family gave away bread when food was scarce and also because it's basement served as a secret underground refuge. The Paladini family still offers different kinds of breads, pizzas and groceries. Don't expect to sit down, the Panificio is the sort of place where you go in, order something and eat it standing up. A light lunch will cost you a little less than $5 (L10.000) per person

Pizzerias aren't the only places to find pizza in Italy. Bakeries usually offer a limited variety of pizzas, but in some cases you can find the best of the best. One bakery in that is known for having some of the best pizza in Rome is the Antico Forno Del Campo de' Fiori (The antique bakery of Campo de' Fiori). The Forno offers pizza bianca (pizza bread with some herbs and oil on top), pizza rossa (pizza bread with herbs, tomato sauce and oil) and pizza with mozzarella (pizza bread with herbs and melted mozzarella).

The selection isn't very extensive, but the Antico Forno is one of the oldest bakeries in the city and the pizza is authentically Roman. Pizza prices range from $6.50 (L13.000)-$9 (L18.000) Kg. The old bakery also offers an assortment of fresh breads, pastries, cookies, jams and honeys.

If you would like to learn more about pizza or try some new recipes check out this site: italianfood.about.com/food/italianfood/library/weekly/aa012699.html