Italy wants pizza put on pedestal

TWO million Italians have signed a petition calling for Neapolitan pizza to be given World Heritage recognition.

Italy wants Unesco, the UN’S cultural body, to grant special status to the pizza when it meets in South Korea next week, claiming pizza-making is an art form that was born in Naples at the beginning of the 18th century.

Attaining Unesco status, it claims, could help combat culinary abuses such as pizza adorned with tinned sweetcorn and prawns, “ranch dressing” and other foreign abominations that horrify Italians.

The campaign is spearheaded by the Naples association of pizza makers, known as “pizzaiuoli”. They want pizza placed on Unesco’s list of “intangible heritage”, which includes food, drink, traditional songs and things other than castles, palaces and natural wonders.