Territory and the new Italian pizza
05-11-2015
Piero Gabrieli and Chiara Quaglia at the end of the third and last day at PizzaUp 2015
«I’m very excited, we’ve really gone places», stutters Roberto Ghisolfi, who in Vighizzolo d’Este is now at home. The places he refers to, are the unexplored territories of the “new Italian pizza”, thus defined by Enzo Vizzari during his speech on the last and final day at PizzaUp 2015.
Territories, we were saying, «yet this concept runs the risk of becoming a cliché», points out Federico de Cesare Viola in his duet with Eleonora Cozzella while Piergiorgio Parini surprises the audience of the symposium. So it would be best to use the French term terroir, «as it has a wider meaning». Indeed it includes history, cultural heritage, knowledge: that is to say savoir faire. The word “territory” is instead over-used, often associated to a non-inclusive identity.
Piergiorgio Parini on the stage, pressed by Eleonora Cozzella under the vigil eye of Federico de Cesare Viola
The entire discussion was born out of a “renewed tradition”. It is based on the semantic slipping of the word pizza: from a round disc seasoned with tomato and more, to something different. The new Italian pizza, indeed: a revolution for which PizzaUp is also a celebrative moment. How about tradition? Piero Gabrieli is tactful: «I defend the word “pizza”, as long as it is shared», between old and new, we’ll simplify. There’s also Dario Bressanini, who certifies: «It’s not the first time that while preserving its name a dish changes its identity: think of polenta (ancient Romans made it with millet) or blancmange (today it’s a dessert, it used to be a recipe with chicken, almonds and broth). Still I don’t recall a similar process to happen in a planned way in the past».
The delicious pizza with beetroot sauce, kiwi, buffalo milk mozzarella and chopped thyme, marjoram and basil
Yet this fruit has Asian origins, same goes for persimmon; and the cypress used by the chef is from America, just like the chilli pepper; the formaggio di fossa is made with sheep milk, «yet sheep were only brought to my area by Sardinian shepherds after WWII». As for black cabbage, well, perhaps it is local, but it strongly recalls Tuscany. So what is this strange territory? The overlapping of many different seeds and influences. A fertile stratification. An identity, indeed, yet a shimmering one.
by
journalist born in 1974, for many years he has covered politics, mostly, and food in his free time. Today he does exactly the opposite and this makes him very happy. As soon as he can, he dives into travels and good food. Identità Golose's editor in chief
Pizza and kitchen: we’ve made contact!
Three super-chefs for PizzaUp 2015