Pizza Marinara – A culinary sanctuary

When people talk about Naples, their thoughts always turn to the real Neapolitan pizza: a unique specialty that has conquered the palates of the whole world.

The most famous symbol of the city’s pizzaiolo tradition is the Margherita, a pizza created in 1889 by Raffaele Esposito for the Queen of Italy. It was called Margherita of Savoy. However, the tradition of Neapolitan pizza is much older than Margherita.

Pizza Marinara – the big sister of the Margherita

Its history begins in the middle of the 19th century. The first written records date back to 1843, when the French writer Alexandre Dumas reported in his travel notes that the Lazzaroni, the particularly poor Neapolitans, ate pizza, a kind of round bread with tomatoes.

In 1866, the Italian writer Francesco de Bourcard finally described the specialty that is famous today as pizza marinara in his work Usi e Costumi di Napoli.

A marinara pizza is much simpler than its big sister, the margherita. The original includes tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and oregano.

But anyone who thinks the word marinara means seafood or something similar is wrong. In those days, only the well-heeled could afford anchovies. The pizza got its name because it was originally the food of fishermen and sailors. All the ingredients have a good shelf life and the dish could also be baked in an oven on board.

A culinary sanctuary

To this day, it is impossible to imagine Naples without the tradition of pizza marinara. The oldest typical Neapolitan pizza is sacred to the pizzaioli. It can be found on the menu of every good pizzeria here.

If you fancy baking your own, you can find all the original ingredients you need for a typical Neapolitan pizza here. The Gustini food scouts have tracked down the best pizza flour in town for you.