'Pizza' painting found in ancient Roman ruins of Pompeii

Reuters ^ | June 30, 2023 | Reporting by Cristina Carlevaro, editing by Alvise Armellini and Angus MacSwan

[SunkenCiv]

A fresco that depicts what might be an ancestor of the Italian pizza has been found on the wall of an house in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, Italy's Culture Ministry said on Tuesday.

Archaeologists presume that the flat bread depicted in the painting, next to a wine goblet, may have been eaten with fruits such as pomegranates or dates, or dressed with spices and a type of pesto sauce, the ministry said.

While it cannot technically be considered a pizza, since it lacks classic ingredients such as tomato and mozzarella, what was found in Pompeii "may be a distant relative of the modern dish", according to a statement.

Pompeii, destroyed by an eruption of the Mount Vesuvius volcano nearly 2,000 years ago, is only about 23 km away from Naples, the modern-day home of the Italian pizza, a UNESCO-protected food.

The fresco was discovered in the hall of a house that had a bakery attached to it, which was partly excavated in the 19th century and where digging resumed in January, the culture ministry said.

The Pompeii site, not discovered until the 16th century, has seen a burst of recent archaeological activity aimed at halting years of decay and neglect, largely thanks to a recently concluded 105-million-euro ($114.85 million) EU-funded project.

[SunkenCiv]

A fresco depicting what might be an ancestor of the Italian pizza on the wall of a house in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii.

via Reuters TV

[j.havenfarm]

Please note: no pineapple. Those of us who fight against the pineapple-on-pizza atrocity are upholding ancient tradition

[nwrep]

Many ancient cultures, particularly those of the Near East and around the Mediterranean, had flat breads as part of their dietary regimen.

[SunkenCiv]

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[nwrep]

Pineapples, like tomatoes, are a new World import, that only became known after Columbus’ discovery.

[mikey_hates_everything]

The Pedosta brothers get around.

[BradyLS]

What an amazing still-life! Looks like it could have been made during the Renaissance!

[ProtectOurFreedom]

“Ancestor” of pizza? That looks like the real deal. Look at that big, puffy, crunchy crust! And all the needed toppings and sauce are sitting next to it.

[BradyLS]

I think I see mushrooms and cheese on it, anyway. Don’t know what other sauces go well on a pizza that isn’t tomato, though.

[SunkenCiv]

[snip] Pizzas as we know them today, with tomato and mozzarella, weren’t baked in Italy until the 1800s. Instead, the Roman fresco likely features a flat focaccia — food that was commonly eaten in the town before it was destroyed in the A.D. 79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius. [/snip]

https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/romans/2000-year-old-not-a-pizza-fresco-discovered-in-pompeii

[nwrep]

I agree. The realism is stunning. This could be something by Caravaggio 1500 years later.

[SunkenCiv]

The Romans used something like alfredo sauce since toms weren’t available.

[OrangeHoof]

Near the Fresco was a sign written in Italian: “15 minutes or it’s free!”

[ProtectOurFreedom]

I'm surprised they didn't show this famous Pompeiian mosaic of a couple of pizzaiolos at work.

[Magnum44]

Pizza! Pizza!

[SunkenCiv]

:^) Regular price, 4 denari, 4 denari, 4 denari.

[eclecticEel]

No tomatoes though; and I wouldn’t call anything lacking a tomato based sauce a pizza.

[NautiNurse]

Exquisite! Gotta get back to Pompeii one of these days.

[gundog]

To say nothing of Canadian bacon.

[Bob434]

my eyes are tired- arte those anchovies on the pizza? Or soem kind of small fish?