Neapolitan or Roman, fried or pan-fried. Some prefer pinsa, others sfincione. Symbol of Made in Italy, it is the most loved dish in the world; it can be thick, thin, with a crispy or stuffed edge; it can be topped in an infinite variety of different ways; it is always ready to renew itself with special flours and unique ingredients. We are obviously talking about pizza.
If we search for the word pizza on Google, we will find ourselves submerged by an amount of entries that will give us an idea of how widespread this gastronomic phenomenon actually is. However, the biennium 2020-2021 has not been a lucky year for the restaurant industry: between restrictions and closures, Italian pizzerias have a 2.5 billion euro crack compared to 2019 (Coldiretti data). Yet, the pandemic has not stopped the love for this dish. Because, if it is true that during the lockdown we have become passionate about homemade doughs, bringing the searching for Yeast like truffle dogs, on the other hand, it is undeniable that pizza is an art and, when made by those who understand it, it always remains the best.
“Always believe, never give up” is a motto that fits the history of pizza like a glove. Born to test the heat of the bakers’ oven, pizza satisfied at breakfast, lunch and dinner the belly of those who were very hungry, but lacked money. Today, known all over the world under a single name, without the need for translations, it is a success that never loses its place in the rankings, an evergreen that, in certain restaurants, can reach figures that will make the most traditionalists turn up their noses. The pizzaiolo himself ventured on a journey of discovery of a profession that in recent years has been the protagonist of a status revolution: from a humble profession, the pizzaiolo has been transformed into an artisan, entrepreneur and artist. Indeed, his art, the art of Pizzaiuolo, has become a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Starting from the suburbs of Naples, pizza has become a global gastronomic phenomenon with Americans leading the ranking of the major consumers, thanks to 13 kilos per head. Italians, on the other hand, rank first in Europe, with 7.6 kg of consumption per year, followed by the Spanish (4.3 kg), French and Germans (4.2 kg), English (4 kg) and Austrians (3.3 kg).
In response, ITA0039’s job is to make pizza culture. Restaurants abroad that choose to adhere to the ITA0039 Protocol, choose awareness, consciousness and study of raw materials, putting in first place origin, quality, tradition and territory. The result is a dish that, on its own, manages to tell a timeless story and a restaurateur who offers a tasty and, at the same time, healthier pizza. This change in approach has contributed to change the way pizza is considered, wrongly for a long time considered as “Serie B”: now that nothing is left to approximation, it is also thanks to customers who are more and more informed, attentive to quality, who have made Made in Italy a lifestyle.
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