Chicago and New Jersey proclaimed themselves the “pizza capitals” of the world and caused outrage among Italians.
Italians have responded with outrage, but also a healthy dose of humor, to the claims of Chicago and New Jersey that they are the “pizza capitals” of the world. The title “World Capital of Pizza” was claimed by both New Jersey and Chicago on the occasion of “National Pizza Day” in the USA on Tuesday.
“Proud to be the pizza capital of the world,” announced the city of Chicago on its Twitter account @chicago. “Jersey. Pizza. Number 1,” proclaimed Phil Murphy, the governor of New Jersey, in an online video of putting a slice of pizza in his mouth.
Pizza invented in Naples
The Italians reacted angrily and promptly pointed out that the pizza was invented in Naples. After all, in 2017 the Neapolitan pizza was recognized by UNESCO as the “intangible heritage” of the world. The claim that there is a pizza capital somewhere outside Italy is “cultural appropriation”.
“Come to Napoli, US friends,” commented Salvatore Esposito, Neapolitan actor and star of the award-winning crime series Gomorrah, which covers the bloody feuds of the Camorra, the Naples mafia. “Naples is the capital of pizza. It represents the Italian flag with the red of the sauce, the white of the mozzarella cheese and the green of the basil,” commented a native of Naples on Twitter.
13 kilograms of pizza per person annually
The pizza, global trademark of Italian cuisine and a piece of national identity, is also an important part of the country’s economy. Pizza is sold in 127,000 restaurants in Italy. Before the lockdown caused by the coronavirus epidemic, eight million pizzas were consumed every day in the country.
The biggest pizza fans in the world, however, are the Americans, who consume 13 kilograms of pizza per person annually. The Italians occupy second place in the international ranking with an average annual consumption of 7.6 kilos per capita, according to a report by the Coldiretti Agriculture Association. The Austrians are at the bottom of Europe with an annual consumption of 3.3 kilos of pizza per capita.
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