The oven used to bake Italy’s first “official” margherita pizza, given to Queen Margherita during her visit to Naples in 1889, has been relit after 134 years.
The ceremony took place on the occasion of the celebration of six years of recognition of the “Art of Neapolitan Pizza Chefs” by UNESCO as an Intangible Heritage of Humanity in December 2017.
The ancient Real Bosco oven, in Capodimonte, a city in Lazio, was rekindled in the Giardino Torre, where the first margherita pizza was produced.
The story, which has now become legend, tells that it was the Italian pizza chef Raffaele Esposito, summoned to Palazzo Reale, who prepared three different pizzas: the oldest – with lard, basil, pecorino and pepper -, one marinara style and another in honor of the colors of the Italian flag and the most popular one which at the time bore the queen’s name.
Currently the site, considered an ancient royal orchard, features beautiful towers and has been opened to the public after a long and careful architectural and botanical recovery and restoration project.
The “Garden of Delize dei Bourbon” returned to its original splendor last summer, becoming a leisure environment and a place where it is possible to taste historic pizzas.
“A symbolic place for our project, the Delizie Reali entrepreneurial group, winner of the European competition, worked botanically to save that heritage. Walking in a historic garden is a cultural experience. A child raised in this forest will have another life. It’s my belief and it worked,” explained Sylvain Bellenger, director of the museum.
The administrator of Delizie Reali, Nunzia Petrecca, explained that historical-artistic research was carried out to best express the vocation of the new restaurant. “The big challenge is to make this productive.”
The visit to the site was also attended by the mayor of Naples, Gaetano Manfredi, who defined the space as “a city within a city”. “This was also the most technologically advanced place at the time. Now the great dream has come true, I hope that in the future there will be the same care taken by Bellenger”, he concluded. .
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
