Round, open, half-moon, square, a meter long. Make that two. As long as it’s pizza.
On Saturday, 17 January we kicked off Pizza Week—and don’t you dare take it lightly, because around this date it’s not just tomato sauce and airy, honeycombed crusts that steal the spotlight, but saints and international authorities too. And it’s serious business, if 2 out of 3 Italians eat at least one pizza a week.
Some eat it at the pizzeria, others at home. Because the tray-baked pizza recipe, soft and homemade, is a heritage that belongs to everyone.
Let’s start with the basics. Our pizza-focused week begins on World Pizza Day, which falls on 17 January—no coincidence—on the feast day of Saint Anthony Abbot, patron saint of trades involving ovens and fire (first and foremost pizza makers and bakers). The origins of the celebration trace back to the official recognition of the Neapolitan Pizzaiuolo Art as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The inscription on UNESCO’s list actually took place in December 2017, but the official declaration happened on 17 January 2018.
In the US, Pizza Day is on 9 February. Thanks to cultural export, the celebration has made its way to the UK too. In English-speaking countries, though, the official name is National Pizza Day.
All right, there are many types of pizza and countless toppings, but if you live abroad, you know it well: the signs all say Italian or Neapolitan pizza. When people talk about this baked staple, then, they’re referring above all to the Neapolitan version.
In Naples, pizza has been known since as far back as the 1600s, enriching wood-fired bread dough with garlic, lard, coarse salt, basil and caciocavallo cheese. It’s in the second half of the 1800s that tomato is added.
Tradition has it that the Margherita was born in 1889, when King Umberto I and Queen Margherita visited Naples and were offered the creation of Raffaele Esposito, the finest pizzaiolo of the time. The topping is now a familiar one: tomato and mozzarella. The Queen was so captivated by those flavours and that dough that she thanked the pizzaiolo in writing, and he, in return, named the pizza after her: Margherita.
[Source: EuroNews 2025]
Neapolitan pizza has become an international brand, but every city has its own take… and they’re all delicious. There’s crispy Roman pizza, pinsa from central Italy, Sicilian sfincione, pizza by the slice, as well as pizza in pala and the Piedmontese padellino. Even within Campania, a school has emerged that partially reworks Neapolitan pizza into a Caserta-style version, characterised by high-hydration doughs and a canotto-style crust.
[2025 data from the Pizza Observatory]
Say Neapolitan pizza and you picture the round one with olive oil, tomato and mozzarella. The Margherita, in other words. And sure—fair enough—absolutely, but… how many mind-blowing pizzas are out there that don’t look like Her Majesty the Margherita and are simply magnificent? Just to name a few:
* Fun fact #2: in Naples it's called "Romana".
[YouGov data, 2024]
You can spot this food in a million films, because when Hollywood wants to show four friends having a great time, it puts them in a room and has them all share a single pizza.
But the iconic power of this priceless treasure is so strong that you’ll find pizza in songs from every country, generation and genre. If Neapolitan artists devote entire lyrics to it, foreign artists mention it with admiration and desire.
Pizza is worth more than a 15-carat diamond in 'A pizza by Sergio Bruni, a song so well known that it was also performed by Giorgio Gaber from Milan:
Pino Daniele’s revolutionary critique has the good taste of pizza and the infectious rhythm of the blues.
Domenico Modugno acknowledges that pizza is a national glory in one of his best-known songs, entirely dedicated to pizza.
Much more recent is 'mpasta by Ciccio Merolla, which refers to another kind of pizza: casatiello. But the gesture of kneading the dough sounds right for any pizza.
For Jovanotti, the taste of pizza is one of those sensations you have to keep experiencing, so you don’t fall into the only real danger: no longer being able to feel anything.
Pizza is worth more than a 15-carat diamond in 'A pizza by Sergio Bruni. And pizza also slips into the Italian-American playfulness of Dean Martin's song, alongside many other foods that represent Italian cuisine.
Still Dean Martin: for him, a boy in love looks up at the moon and sees a big slice of pizza.
67% of Italians eat pizza at least once a week, 30% less than once, and 3% never.
If you’re madly in love with pizza, if you can’t get enough of Italian cooking, if you miss Sundays at home with that baked-pasta smell, you have to celebrate Pizza Week. Here are the steps to follow:
Superstitious, stopwatch-obsessed, social or podium-style? Your Olympic fan starter pack can make all the difference...
Discovering Italian pasta: why it's so beloved, what the most famous shapes are, and how to pair them.
Baked pizza, recipe for two people for margherita and marinara
A semi-serious guide to Neapolitan pizza and its Italian counterparts.
A journey through the most beloved Italian soups in winter, including tradition, comfort food, and authentic...
