'Pizza Week' promotes authentic Italian flavors in SP

The 5th edition of Settimana della Pizza has begun in São Paulo, which will take place until July 13th in 19 pizzerias in the capital of São Paulo and one in Sorocaba, in the interior of the state, to celebrate one of the most appreciated dishes in the world and a symbol of Italian gastronomy.

The idea behind the initiative is to pay homage to the birthplace of pizza through flavors featuring local ingredients from the 20 regions of the "Belpaese", also as a preview of the Settimana della Cucina Regionale Italiana, held in October and which is one of the main activities on the city's gastronomic calendar.

"One of the objectives of Settimana is to show how important pizza is in Italian and also Brazilian gastronomic culture," says Gerardo Landulfo, delegate of the Accademia Italiana della Cucina in São Paulo, adding that "the event goes beyond the table."

"Since the first edition, we have been sharing the history of the recipe, how it arrived in Brazil and evolved in recent years, with the arrival of imported ingredients from Italy and the adoption of the long fermentation process", he says.

Celebrated in Brazil on July 10, pizza arrived in the country through the first Italian immigrants from Naples, where it was created, more than a century ago. Over time, many pizzerias were opened in São Paulo, popularizing what is today one of the symbols of the city's gastronomy.

"São Paulo has so many pizzerias that Settimana helps people choose the best ones," says Graziano Messana, president of the Italian Chamber of Commerce of São Paulo (Italcam), organizer of the event alongside the Consulate General of Italy, the Accademia Italiana della Cucina, the Istituto Italiano di Cultura in the capital of São Paulo and the Italian National Tourism Agency (Enit).

"Pizza is a bit of a synthesis of Italian cuisine: few ingredients, but well made, which includes the fermentation process", highlights the consul general of Italy in São Paulo, Domenico Fornara.

The "Settimana" was opened with an event at the Veridiana pizzeria, which represents Tuscany with a filling of tomato sauce, fiordilatte cheese, fresh artisanal sausage and Italian porcini mushrooms.

"This year's edition also highlighted the creativity of pizza chefs, who were encouraged to propose a new recipe or revisit a classic, including at least one ingredient typical of the region represented," says Landulfo.

In addition to a version in homage to each of Italy's 20 regions, the 20 participating pizzerias also offer a reinterpretation of the classic Margherita, the consul's favorite. "The Margherita is my favorite because beauty lies in its simplicity," he says.

Check out all the participating pizzerias: Foglia Forneria (Abruzzo), Rural Pizzeria (Basilicata), Soffio Pizzeria (Calabria), Leggera (Leggera Pizza Napoletana), Bráz Pizzaria (Emilia-Romagna), Andrea di Lucca Arte & Pizza (Friuli Venezia Giulia), La Braciera (Lazio), Oli Pizzas Artesanais (Liguria), La Crosta Forneria (Lombardia), Temperani Trattoria (Brands), Trattorita Evvai (Molise), .it Pizza (Piedmont), Qui o Qua (Puglia), A Pizza da Mooca (Sardinia), Unica Pizzeria (Sicily), Veridiana Pizzaria (Tuscany), Maremonti-Campo Belo (Trentino-Alto Adige), Napoletana Forneria (Umbria), Ombra (Aosta Valley) and Diavola Pizzeria Italiana (Veneto).