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The Evolution Of Pizza
By Kirsten Hawkins, Fri Dec 9th

Trying to trace the history of the first pizza is a surprisinglycontroversial subject. Some claim that this popular food isbased on early unleavened breads served in the early centuriesin Rome. Others trace a connection from modern pizza back to thepita breads of Greece.

It's fairly well established that the first pizza as we know ittoday was created by a man named Raffaele Esposito from Naples,Italy. Esposito's creation was designed to honor the visit ofQueen Margherita to Naples in 1889, and he decorated it with thecolors of the Italian flag, using white cheese, green basil, andred tomatoes (tomatoes, which had arrived from the west about 60years earlier, were originally thought to be poisonous, but byEsposito's time they were already embraced by Italian cuisine).

As the years passed and the turn of the century came about,Italian immigrants brought this recipe with them to America. Thefirst pizzeria was opened in America in 1905. It remainedpopular almost exclusively among immigrants until the end ofWorld War II, when American soldiers returned to their home soiland brought back a love of the pizza they had discoveredoverseas. With that, the pizza boom in America began and thisfood became a mainstream meal instead of an underground Italiansnack.

The concentration of Italian immigrants in New York in thoseolden days explains the fact that many people feel you mustvisit New York to get true pizzeria-style pizza. It's where thepizza got its American start, after all. And nobody who hasexperienced New York style pizza can disagree. New York isfamous for its pizzerias, where a true slice of pizza consistsof a thin, wide crust loaded with plenty of toppings andmarinara and smothered in heady Italian seasonings. A side ofgarlic bread and some heady pastas and tortellinis usually roundout the menu. Pizzerias in New York are not for the faint ofheart.

In the early 1940s, the city of Chicago, IL took pizza in adifferent direction. It is believed that the first pizzeria inChicago was Pizzeria Uno, opened in 1943 by Ike Sewell. Sewell'spizza creation was a new twist on the old New York standard. Hecreated what is known today as deep-dish pizza, where the pizzais sunk low into a deeper pan, and the crust is allowed to risein thick bubbles around the edges. People flocked to Sewell'spizzeria, and a whole new way of looking at this favorite foodwas born.

To this day you can find yourself in some pretty heated debatesif you argue with a New Yorker or a Chicagoan about whatconstitutes authentic pizzeria-style pizza. But whatever cruststyle you choose, pizza is a unique food with a foggy past and adefinite appeal that has lasted through many incarnations.

So you're lucky enough to find yourself in New York or Chicago,or any city for that matter that has a true pizzeria, completewith checked tablecloths and plenty of garlic on the menu,indulge yourself in an old tradition and order a slice. Afterall, its tradition.

About the author:Kirsten Hawkins is a food and nutrition expert specializing theMexican, Chinese, and Italian food. Visithttp://www.food-and-nutrition.com/ for more information oncooking delicious and healthy meals.

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Fiabe Italiane
The New York Times notes in "<a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/theater/07turturro.html">With Turturro, Italy Knows No Bounds</a>," that the actor John Turturro directed and acted in "Fiabe Italiane" ("Italian Folk Tales"). The production, on tour last month in Torino, Napoli, and Milano, featured "...minstrels, two overlapping stories, [and] layers of language (English, Italian, Western Lombardian, Sicilian, Neapolitan, Piedmontese, Abruzzese)." <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://italian.about.com/b/2010/03/07/fiabe-italiane.htm">Fiabe Italiane</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://italian.about.com/">About.com Italian Language</a> on Sunday, March 7th, 2010 at 02:32:00.<a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://italian.about.com/b/2010/03/07/fiabe-italiane.htm">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://italian.about.com/b/2010/03/07/fiabe-italiane.htm#gB3">Comment</a> | <a href="http://italian.about.com/gi/pages/shareurl.htm?PG=http://italian.about.com/b/2010/03/07/fiabe-italiane.htm&zItl=Fiabe Italiane">Email this</a>
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Spaghetti Eastern
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Codice Itanglese
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Petrarca's Love Sonnets
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Esatto? No!
A community member of the <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://forums.about.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?nav=messages&webtag=ab-italian">About.com Italian Language Forums</a> remembers an interview some years ago with a professor on RAI TV during which, in her words: "he had an explosive fit over the word 'esatto' when used as confirmation or agreement by the second party." Another poster postulates that the professor found it reprehensible on grounds of lack of variety. The point is, <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://forums.about.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=12&nav=messages&webtag=ab-italian&tid=9129">the Italian language allows a number of possible affirmative answers</a>, depending on the question and on the context, including: "S?t;/em>," "S?certo," "Certamente," and "?cos?t;/em>." <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://italian.about.com/b/2010/02/09/esatto.htm">Esatto? No!</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://italian.about.com/">About.com Italian Language</a> on Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 at 02:06:20.<a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://italian.about.com/b/2010/02/09/esatto.htm">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://italian.about.com/b/2010/02/09/esatto.htm#gB3">Comment</a> | <a href="http://italian.about.com/gi/pages/shareurl.htm?PG=http://italian.about.com/b/2010/02/09/esatto.htm&zItl=Esatto? No!">Email this</a>
McDonald’s Parla Italiano
McDonald's has introduced a new line of "McItaly" sandwiches and salads in its Italian locations, including a burger topped with olive oil, onion, and smoked pancetta. To coincide with the new menu items is a <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://www.pubblicitaitalia.it/news/Creativita--Marketing/Campagne-e-Spot/con-mcitaly-e-twbaitalia-mcdonalds-parla-italiano-_27011212.aspx">marketing campaign</a> with the tagline: "Il gusto McDonald's ha un nuovo sapore. Tutto italiano."<a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://italian.about.com/b/2010/02/02/mcitaly.htm">McDonald’s Parla Italiano</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://italian.about.com/">About.com Italian Language</a> on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 02:05:57.<a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://italian.about.com/b/2010/02/02/mcitaly.htm">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://italian.about.com/b/2010/02/02/mcitaly.htm#gB3">Comment</a> | <a href="http://italian.about.com/gi/pages/shareurl.htm?PG=http://italian.about.com/b/2010/02/02/mcitaly.htm&zItl=McDonald’s Parla Italiano">Email this</a>
Sicilian Tragedee
"Sicilian Tragedee," by Ottavio Cappellani (translated by Frederika Randall), is, according to The New York Times, "<a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/19/books/review/Leavitt-t.html ">a funny novel that both celebrates and satirizes 21st-century Sicily</a>...where donkey carts share the street with sports cars and everyone has a cellphone." <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://italian.about.com/b/2010/01/31/sicilian-tragedee.htm">Sicilian Tragedee</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://italian.about.com/">About.com Italian Language</a> on Sunday, January 31st, 2010 at 02:32:07.<a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://italian.about.com/b/2010/01/31/sicilian-tragedee.htm">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://italian.about.com/b/2010/01/31/sicilian-tragedee.htm#gB3">Comment</a> | <a href="http://italian.about.com/gi/pages/shareurl.htm?PG=http://italian.about.com/b/2010/01/31/sicilian-tragedee.htm&zItl=Sicilian Tragedee">Email this</a>
Fare Il Pieno With a Subject Pronoun
The <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://www.nytimes.com/pages/crosswords/">New York Times crossword</a> today features a clue for Italophiles: "Gas brand that's also an Italian pronoun." The answer, of course, is ESSO, a brand name derived from the phonetic pronounciation of the initials of Standard Oil ("S-O").It's also one of those <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://italian.about.com/od/grammar/a/aa052808a.htm">forgotten Italian subject pronouns</a> that include egli, ella, esso, essa, essi, and esse.<a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://italian.about.com/b/2010/01/28/esso.htm">Fare Il Pieno With a Subject Pronoun</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://italian.about.com/">About.com Italian Language</a> on Thursday, January 28th, 2010 at 02:05:38.<a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://italian.about.com/b/2010/01/28/esso.htm">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://italian.about.com/b/2010/01/28/esso.htm#gB3">Comment</a> | <a href="http://italian.about.com/gi/pages/shareurl.htm?PG=http://italian.about.com/b/2010/01/28/esso.htm&zItl=Fare Il Pieno With a Subject Pronoun">Email this</a>
Pin-up Italiana
A community member of the <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://forums.about.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?nav=messages&webtag=ab-italian">About.com Italian Language Forums</a> points outs out that sometimes "<a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://forums.about.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=178&nav=messages&webtag=ab-italian&tid=111">it's all right to use a foreign word when the Italian equivalent is awkward or non-existent</a>." Case in point is the term ragazza di cui appendere la fotografia alla parete—a pin-up! <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://italian.about.com/b/2010/01/25/pin-up-italiana.htm">Pin-up Italiana</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://italian.about.com/">About.com Italian Language</a> on Monday, January 25th, 2010 at 02:38:11.<a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://italian.about.com/b/2010/01/25/pin-up-italiana.htm">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&zu=http://italian.about.com/b/2010/01/25/pin-up-italiana.htm#gB3">Comment</a> | <a href="http://italian.about.com/gi/pages/shareurl.htm?PG=http://italian.about.com/b/2010/01/25/pin-up-italiana.htm&zItl=Pin-up Italiana">Email this</a>