World Pizza Day: celebrating the Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage

A few, very simple ingredients have given life, for a few centuries, to the recipe of one of the most loved dishes of all time. Neapolitan pizza, so delicious that it deserves its own World Pizza Day, is also a UNESCO intangible heritage. Many awards are certainly well deserved, but in any case just smelling it is enough to be inebriated.

Pizza is also a complete and balanced food, as well as an expression of the culture of an entire people, but its most important quality is that it brings joy to those who eat it and those who prepare it. Let's find out why and how World Pizza Day is celebrated.

It can be said, without fear of exaggeration, that Italian cuisine is a long series of dishes with excellent taste, which reward quality raw materials and which boast ancient traditions. And if pasta has its own museum, then why a World Pizza Day? What are the reasons that pushed UNESCO to reward Neapolitan pizza?

Among the criteria adopted, the consideration that pizza is not only a merely gastronomic phenomenon, but also a real theatrical performance with multiple values. A social ritual staged by the actor-pizza chef who, like a sort of shaman, bewitches his customers with his hieratic staging. A constant dialogue made of gestures, as well as flavors and aromas, but also an opportunity for social redemption for many young people who, in learning this now sacred profession, can find an alternative to the inappropriate lifestyle offered by the underworld.

Pizza became a UNESCO world heritage site on 7 December 2017, and yet it is not on this day that it is celebrated, so when is World Pizza Day?

The official day for this tasty celebration is January 17th, the same day of the feast of Sant'Antonio Abate and it is no coincidence. The cult of this hermit saint is closely linked to fire, because according to legend he faced the flames of Hell to save the sinners' souls. This is why in Naples, and in many other parts of Italy, the day is celebrated by lighting suggestive bonfires. This also made Saint Anthony the patron saint of many workers who deal with fire, such as firefighters and, indeed, pizza chefs.

In fact, in Naples, January 17th has been considered pizza chef's day for more than a century. Now the whole world celebrates this ancient craft and the unparalleled goodness of pizza.

To celebrate World Pizza Day, all you need to do is unleash your imagination and want to have fun. This special day can be honored simply at the table of a pizzeria, with family or friends, without forgetting a classic: a take-away pizza combined with a nice movie and your own sofa.

The green light to tasty DIY recipes for home made pizza, and for those who don't know how to cook there are many courses, masterclasses, experiences and so on, in Naples but also in many other Italian cities. The important thing is the joy of being together while learning the first secrets of the Neapolitan culinary patent, now the pride of tables set across half the planet. Or maybe you can choose to join in a tasting to experience different aromas and flavors.

Eating a good pizza has always made everyone happy, in every culture, but it is not only a moment that satisfies the senses, it's also a cultural experience not to be underestimated.