Pizza is often eaten with knife and fork, but it was conceived as a street food. A favorite is the pizza Margherita. We traveled to its hometown of Naples in southern Italy to find out why.
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 (speaking in foreign language)
00:03 It's a me, the Pizza Margherita,
00:05 the boss of Neapolitan street foods.
00:08 I was born and raised here in Naples,
00:10 and I rose to fame here.
00:11 What makes me so special, you ask?
00:13 Well, I'll tell you.
00:14 (speaking in foreign language)
00:20 - I'm a big fan of Margherita.
00:21 It's like the best pizza I've had.
00:23 - My dream to eat here, real Napolese pizza.
00:26 - It's the birthplace of pizza,
00:28 so that's why we're here.
00:30 - People will travel thousands of kilometers
00:32 to Southern Italy just for me,
00:34 and I personally owe my very existence to this man.
00:37 - Hi, hello.
00:38 My name's Pasquale Pecoraro.
00:40 I was born on this street in Naples.
00:42 I'm 32 years old and a pizza baker.
00:44 - It was his skilled hands that made me what I am.
00:49 - This move is hard to do.
00:52 It takes a lot of practice and dexterity
00:55 because it's so easy to tear the dough.
00:58 Here we have San Marzano tomatoes,
01:00 Parmesan, basil, and buffalo mozzarella from Campania.
01:04 - I like to wear red, green, and white vest,
01:09 the colors of the Italian flag,
01:11 but something's missing here.
01:12 Pasquale has a little tip.
01:14 - Top it off with a drizzle of olive oil
01:17 on the areas where there are no tomatoes.
01:19 - A thick, fluffy edge, a thin crust of yeast dough.
01:26 That's the way we need it.
01:28 But when is the right time to have me?
01:29 - In the evening with friends.
01:34 Yeah, in the evening.
01:35 - Pizza in the morning for breakfast is fantastic.
01:38 - Cold, warm, no matter.
01:42 Saturday evening's pizza for breakfast on Sunday morning.
01:45 - There's no one time of day for pizza.
01:49 Pizza's good any time.
01:50 - Grazie, grazie.
01:52 I'm turning red in the face, but I'm not alone.
01:55 May I present my family?
01:56 Pizza a portafoglio, a folded pizza.
01:59 Easy to eat even with one hand.
02:01 Then comes my very rich aunt, pizza fritta.
02:07 In this case, she's a margherita too,
02:09 except fried in oil so everything melts.
02:12 Yummy, very typical for Naples, and a favorite.
02:15 And who else?
02:19 Of course, pizza marinara.
02:21 Simple, with tomato sauce and spices.
02:24 Other relatives like things fancier,
02:26 like this one with garlic, meatballs,
02:28 ham, mushrooms, olives.
02:30 You can top me with whatever you like,
02:32 but some of my own people see things differently.
02:34 There are limits.
02:36 - Many say pineapple and no fried potatoes for me.
02:43 Pineapple and honey has no business on it.
02:48 - Well, everything's okay.
02:50 - No pineapple.
02:52 - Anything can go on it, even pineapple.
02:54 - Oh well, pineapple.
02:57 As a genuine Neapolitan, I'll go through hellfire for you.
03:00 - The classic pizza in Naples takes 60 to 90 seconds
03:05 to bake at temperatures between 440 and 470 degrees Celsius.
03:09 Then the edge can rise a bit,
03:14 and on the inside we get the right consistency.
03:16 - Hellacious, isn't it?
03:19 Over 400 degrees.
03:21 No wonder Pasquale's shop is called Purgatorio.
03:24 Like in our great poet Dante's epic, Purgatory.
03:27 He named his eatery after the scary church across the way.
03:30 On the subject of names, this is my story.
03:35 Once upon a time, there was a pizza baker from Naples,
03:38 and in 1889, he created me in honor of Queen Margherita,
03:42 and she loved me above all others.
03:44 That's the legend.
03:45 Later, Italian immigrants took me along all over the world,
03:51 and especially to America,
03:52 where everybody was just crazy about me.
03:54 But originally, I came from a poor background,
03:58 from the streets.
03:59 Even stuff like cow stomach and tongue are sold in Naples.
04:02 Not to tourists usually, unless you're brave enough,
04:05 like her.
04:06 Wow, but a gelato to cleanse the palate
04:12 is always a good idea, and goes fine with me.
04:14 But enough about the others.
04:17 This is about me.
04:18 UNESCO's even named me as Intangible Cultural Heritage,
04:22 and well, I should be, right?
04:23 It's delicious and tender, and tender and delicious.
04:31 When you eat pizza with your hands,
04:34 you don't eat anything else.
04:36 (speaking in foreign language)
04:37 Well, I don't know.
04:38 The simple ingredients.
04:39 It's a work of art.
04:42 The aroma, the taste, something special.
04:46 The simplicity.
04:47 It's affordable, and you can just eat it with your hands.
04:51 What a compliment.
04:52 Although sometimes my relationships end tragically.
04:55 Oh well, nevermind.
04:56 Tomorrow's another day, isn't it, Pesquale?
04:58 My whole life, my whole life,
05:02 for me it's a passion, work and passion.
05:04 So it's not even real work.
05:06 Ciao, ragazzi, a dopo.