Ancient Roman wall painting does not depict pizza after all, archeologists say

A still-life fresco just lately found within the ruins of ancient Pompeii was at first believed to depict a pizza, however archeologists say it’s not the enduring Italian dish in any case. 

The fresco was painted some 2,000 years in the past, lengthy earlier than the important thing components in pizza – tomatoes and mozzarella – arrived in Italy. 

Tomatoes have been solely introduced to Europe from the Americas just a few centuries in the past. It’s broadly believed that the invention of mozzarella led on to the invention of pizza in close by Naples within the 1700s.

This image offered on Tuesday, June 27, 2023, by the Pompeii Archaeological Park reveals the wall of an historical Pompeian home with a fresco depicting a desk with meals.  (Pompeii Archaeological Park by way of AP)

The picture within the historical fresco is as an alternative believed to be a focaccia lined with fruit, together with pomegranate and probably dates, completed with spices or a kind of pesto, specialists stated. Within the fresco, it’s served on a silver plate and a wine chalice stands subsequent to it. 

The fresco depicts a comparatively frugal meal served in an opulent setting as seen by the silver tray. This isn’t not like the modern-day pizza which was born as a “poor man’s dish in southern Italy [but] has gained over the world and is served in starred eating places,” says Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Pompeii archaeological web site.

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The traditional Roman metropolis of Pompeii was destroyed within the eruption of close by Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The sudden and lethal occasion left a lot of the construction intact, embalmed in volcanic ash, and the location is now a serious archaeological mission and vacationer attraction. 

This image offered on Tuesday, June 27, 2023, by the Pompeii Archaeological Park reveals the wall of an historical Pompeian home with frescoes, one depicting a desk with meals.  (Pompeii Archaeological Park by way of AP)

The Coldiretti ag foyer instantly seized on the invention of the fresco to advertise pizza — invented as a fast meal for the working poor — as a nationwide treasure. As we speak, pizza represents one-third of the meals finances of international guests and generates whole annual revenues of $16.4 billion in Italy. 

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The artwork of the Neapolitan pizzamaker was placed on UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage listing in 2017, acknowledged for its 4 phases of dough preparation and for being baked completely in a wooden oven at 905 levels Fahrenheit.

The Related Press contributed to this report.