Ancient Pompeii pizza

Pizza’s prototype - 17th July 2023

Archeologists on an excavation site in Pompeii have unearthed a fresco depicting what appears to be a precursor to Italy’s most well-known dish, pizza.

It details a flatbread known as 'focaccia', covered with pomegranates and dates, and seasoned with spices or possibly a kind of pesto. While this resembles the modern pizza, it’s lacking ingredients intrinsically linked with the Neapolitan delicacy.

These differences in the fresco are no mystery since it predates both Europeans’ exploration of the Americas and the invention of mozzarella. Tomatoes from Central America wouldn’t reach Europe for nearly 1,500 years. Meanwhile, the earliest predecessor of buffalo mozzarella, made with sheep’s milk, wouldn’t be invented for another century.

Ancient Roman cuisine consisted primarily of grains, beans, bread, fish, some eggs, meat and hard and soft cheeses. This was commonly accompanied with wine, seen in a silver goblet in the fresco. Archaeologists contend that artwork with food served a greater purpose than to work up an appetite. Such culinary depictions exemplified 'xenia', a Greek concept focused on hospitality and the guest-host relationship. Guests in Roman homes were to be bathed and fed by their host.

Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of Pompeii’s archeological park, draws parallels between the fresco’s balance of luxurious dishes, served on silver platters, and its more humble foods like pizza. He sees a juxtaposition of opulence and modesty, commenting, "How can we not think, in this regard, of pizza, also born as a 'poor' dish in southern Italy, which has now conquered the world".

The fresco’s exquisite condition is down to Mount Vesuvius’s eruption in 79 AD, which laid a thick blanket of poisonous gas and ash over the city of Pompeii. This preserved the locations where its residents perished and kept its decor and contents intact.

Ever since being rediscovered in the late 16th century, Pompeii’s served as an invaluable time capsule. Italy’s Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano, advocates for the preservation of the site, stressing that "Pompeii never ceases to amaze, it is a casket that always reveals new treasures."

The focaccia fresco was unearthed a mere 25 kilometres from Naples, the birthplace of the UNESCO-protected method for making modern Italian pizza.