Pizza is the most iconic of Italian foods and one of the few Italian words to have penetrated into almost every language worldwide.<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
It\u2019s also one of the few Italian foods that comes close to being a national dish.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Pizza is the stuff of legends, literally. Many trace its origins back to Roman times due to an episode in the ancient poem the Aeneid, written by the poet Virgil in the 1st century BC, which seems to describe the dish. It\u2019s certain that people in Italy and indeed the whole of the Mediterranean have been eating flatbread topped with cheese or vegetables for millennia.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
In Rome, pizza developed as something baked in commercial bread ovens after the daily bread was finished, just in time to be served for lunch. Originally it was topped with olive oil, or cheese and vegetables, and then from the 18th century onwards with fresh tomatoes or passata<\/em> (tomato puree). The latter kind became known as pizze rosse<\/em> (red pizza) and the former olive oil version christened pizze bianche<\/em> (white pizza). This distinction continues in Rome up to this day. These original pizzas were quite small, between three and seven inches in diameter. Today, due to their size, they are often called pizzette<\/em>, meaning little pizzas.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n At this time in Rome, pizza would have been considered a piatto povero<\/em>, a dish of the poor, costing very little and designed to fill up hungry stomachs as quickly as possible.<\/p>\r\n\r\n Photo Credit: Abbie Stark<\/a>, Text Overlay: Devour Rome Food Tours<\/a><\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n In the years after World War II, Italy, like the rest of the world, discovered fast food.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The pizza was ripe for development and by the end of the 1960s a new kind of pizza was found all over Rome: the pizza in teglia<\/em>. This consisted of flatbread cooked in large oblong dishes with all kinds of toppings from the simple to the inspired. It would then be cut into squares and sold by the slice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n This kind of pizza, also inexpensive, found favor almost everywhere, including among tourists, students and families who would buy them as treats for their kids. It soon became Rome\u2019s preferred street food<\/a> and the number of shops selling it boomed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Until the 1950s, round pizzas had been associated almost solely with Naples<\/a>. But in this decade pizzerias started springing up all over Rome and with them came a new kind of pizza, the pizza alla Romana<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n A pizza Napoletana<\/em><\/a> has a crust which is very thin in the middle, but very thick on the outside. The high crust forms a border around the toppings. The pizza is cooked very quickly at a high temperature and so the crust is cooked on the outside but only just on the inside. The result is a soft and fluffy texture. The center of the pizza is so thin that if you cut a slice, it will be all floppy and you will have to fold it to eat it with your hands.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The pizza alla Romana<\/em>, on the other hand, has a base of the same thickness throughout. There is no real crust and the toppings go right to the edge. The texture of the base is crispy, which is achieved by adding oil to the dough\u2014something which is considered a no-no for a Neapolitan pizza. If you cut a slice it will retain its shape, making it very easy to eat with your hands.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n In the last fifty years or so, pizza has taken on the status of something of a national dish in Italy, giving it a very important place with Italians and tourists alike. Many Italians will go out for pizza once a week, particularly on Sunday evenings. As everyone, young and old, loves the dish, it\u2019s also something people enjoy with the whole family, from toddlers to seniors.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n But the pizza Romana<\/em> also has its rivals. At the beginning of this century, a \u201cnew\u201d pizza stepped onto the scene and started competing for attention.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n We\u2019re talking about the pinsa<\/em>, a variety of pizza made with a mixture of wheat, rice and soy flour and lievito madre<\/em> (natural yeast similar to sourdough). The pinsa<\/em> claims to be a modern rediscovery of the original pizza referred to by Virgil and has certainly become very popular in recent years with the number of pinserie<\/a><\/em> growing all over the city.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n If you want to try the various different types of pizza on offer here are a few places you can\u2019t miss:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Growing awareness of food allergies and illness has lead to the development and popularity of gluten-free pizza in Rome<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n![\"Roman-style](\"https:\/\/assets.devourtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/pizza-alla-romana-1.png\")
<\/figure>\r\n\r\nFrom poor food to fast food<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
![\"One](\"https:\/\/assets.devourtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/pizza-alla-romana-by-the-slice-Cyra-1.jpg\")
\r\nA battle between giants<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
![\"Eating](\"https:\/\/devourromefoodtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/pizza-in-rome-1.jpg\")
\r\nPizza or pinsa?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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![\"Pizza](\"https:\/\/assets.devourtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/pizza-alla-romana-market-stall-1.jpg\")
\r\nWhat\u2019s next?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n