UNESCO accepted the art of Neapolitan "pizzaiuoli," or pizza
makers, on the world body's list of the Intangible Cultural
Heritage of Humanity.
"Congratulations #Italy!" it said in a tweet after a meeting in
Jeju, South Korea where the decision was made.
Italy argued the practice of the "pizzaiuoli" - preparing and
flipping the dough, topping it and baking it in a wood-fired
oven - was part of the country's cultural and gastronomic
tradition.
In Rome, pizzeria owner Romano Fiore celebrated the decision. "I
am honored, like all Italians and Neapolitans are...pizza has
centuries of history," he said.
Archetypal Neapolitan pizza has a relatively thin crust with the
exception of the rim, which, when baked, bloats like a tiny
bicycle tire.
It is made in a wood-burning brick oven and has two classic
versions: Marinara (tomato, garlic, oregano and oil) and, the
most famous, Margherita (tomato, mozzarella, oil and basil),
giving it the red, white and green colors of the Italian flag.
Tradition holds that the Margherita pizza was created in 1889 by
a local chef in honor of Queen Margherita, who was visiting
Naples, south of Rome on Italy's Tyrrhenian coast.
As pizza has become a favorite dish around the world, foreign
innovations in toppings have often left Italians perplexed and
aghast.
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Matteo Martino, a customer at Fiore's pizzeria, said before the
expected announcement, "I think, and I hope, that this could be the
chance to make foreigners understand how pizza is made, without
Nutella or pineapple."
UNESCO also accepted Chogan, an Iranian horse-riding game
accompanied by music and storytelling, and the craft of millers
operating windmills and watermills in the Netherlands.
Traditional boat making on the Indonesian island of South Sulawesi,
and Nsima, a maize-based culinary tradition from the African country
of Malawi, also joined the list.
Food culture already on the UNESCO list includes Turkish coffee
culture and tradition, the gingerbread craft of northern Croatia and
the traditional ancient Georgian method of Qvevri wine-making.
(Reporting by Reuters Television; Writing by Darren Schuettler and
Isla Binnie; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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