Lady Luck loves a good pizza — or at least that is what Neapolitan “pizzaioli” must believe, because a city usually loath to tempt fate began celebrating its UNESCO victory before the result was even in.
“After 250 years waiting, the pizza is a UNESCO heritage! Congratulations Naples!” cried pizza maker Enzo Coccia, as crowds in the street outside the Sorbillo pizzeria erupted into cheers.
It didn’t matter that the cultural body’s World Heritage Committee was still a few hours away from making it an “intangible heritage“: there was no chance the world-famous dish could lose.
The day before Thursday’s much-awaited announcement, discs of floury dough flew through the air as jubilant pizzaioli feted the art of pizza making — from the wooden ovens used, to the spectacular handling of the mix to “oxygenate” it.
Passing families and youngsters whizzing by on scooters stopped to grab fresh slices dripping melted mozzarella as a man with a guitar burst into one of the songs dedicated to the Italian delicacy.
Dozens more chefs were expected to hand out free pizza to locals and tourists in the southern city after the decision, which paid homage to pizza’s key social as well as cultural role.
“Down the centuries, the Neapolitan art of pizza making has been based on a few key elements: water, flour, salt and yeast — and the excellent produce from the Campania countryside,” Coccia said.
“But it is also the hands, heart and soul of the pizzaiolo which allow us to make magic,” he added, describing the stretching and turning of the dough as “a love and passion that we transmit to others