Top that! World heritage pizza

THE very particular art of making Neapolitan pizza yesterday won world heritage status.

Hand-spinning the dough and baking it in a wood-fired brick oven was recognised by Unesco for what it called unique cultural and gastronomic importance.

There are only two types of pizza served in Naples, Italy – marinara, made with tomato, garlic, oregano and olive oil or the most famous, margherita, made with tomato, mozzarella, basil and olive oil. The practice of making it, known as pizzaiuolo, involves the dough being hand-stretched by a specialised chef who spins it to achieve a thin base. After the tomato sauce is added, toppings are sprinkled from the centre in a clockwise direction.

Most people associate Unesco status with beautiful areas of the world such as the Great Barrier Reef or Venice.

But the UN’s culture body has also been known to recognise food and drink, to raise awareness of global cultural traditions.Unesco said pizzaiuolo has been handed down for generations, and encompasses social rituals such as songs and stories. Pizza makers in Naples celebrated yesterday by handing out free pizza.

One customer at a pizza restaurant in the city said yesterday: ‘I think, and I hope, that this could be the chance to make foreigners understand how pizza is made – without Nutella or pineapple.’