Roman pizza (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

: ''pizza romana'') is a style of

pizza Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, onions ...

originating in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, but now widespread, especially in

Central Italy Central Italy ( it, Italia centrale or just ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first-level NUTS region, and a European Parliament constituency. Regions Central It ...

. Unlike

Neapolitan pizza Neapolitan pizza (), also known as Naples-style pizza, is a style of pizza made with tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. The tomatoes must be either San Marzano tomatoes or Pomodorino del Piennolo del Vesuvio, which grow on the volcanic plains to t ...

, which is recognised under the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

Traditional Speciality Guaranteed A traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG, plural: ''traditional specialities guaranteed'') is a traditional food product protected under European Union and/or UK law. This label differs from the geographical indications, protected designation of o ...

scheme and by UNESCO as an

intangible cultural heritage An intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is a practice, representation, expression, knowledge, or skill considered by UNESCO to be part of a place's cultural heritage. Buildings, historic places, monuments, and artifacts are cultural property. Int ...

, there is currently no equivalent recognition for Roman style pizza, and correspondingly no officially agreed upon definition. There are two quite different styles of pizza which may be referred to as Roman pizza in Italy: *

Pizza al taglio Pizza al taglio or pizza al trancio (Italian for pizza by the slice — literally "by the cut") is a variety of pizza baked in large rectangular trays, and generally sold in rectangular or square slices by weight, with prices marked per kil ...

(

pizza by the slice Pizza by the slice is a fast food sold by pizzerias and food stands, making it also often a street food. The pizza slices may be plain or have various toppings. Some restaurants and pizza stands only sell pizza by the slice, while others sell b ...

). This typically comes in rectangular slices, and usually has a thicker base, similar to

focaccia Focaccia ( , , ; lij, fugassa ; nap, label= Barese, fecazze ) is a flat leavened oven-baked Italian bread, similar in style and texture to pizza; in some places, it is called ("white pizza"). Focaccia can be served as a side dish or as san ...

. It is eaten as a casual,

takeaway A take-out or takeout (U.S., Canada, and the Philippines); carry-out or to-go (Scotland and some dialects in the U.S. and Canada); takeaway (England, Wales, Australia, Lebanon, South Africa, Northern Ireland, Ireland, and occasionally in Nort ...

dish. * Whole round pizzas (''pizza tonda'') with a thin base. Most sit-down restaurants serving pizza in Rome serve this style, and indeed this is probably the most commonly found style of pizza in restaurants in most regions of Italy. Sometimes referred to as ''pizza bassa'' (low pizza) to distinguish from ''pizza alta'' (high pizza - the Neapolitan style). One of the key differences in the ingredients for the dough compared to the Neapolitan style is in the addition of oil, which contributes to the crispness of the resulting base, described using the word "scrocchiarella", an onomatopoeic adjective in the

Romanesco dialect Romanesco () is one of the central Italian dialects spoken in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, especially in the core city. It is linguistically close to Tuscan and Standard Italian, with some notable differences from these two. Rich in ...

. However, the naming of the latter style of pizza does not appear to be consistent across Italy, and in some parts of the country this may only be referred to as ''pizza bassa''.

References

Pizza styles Italian cuisine {{Italy-cuisine-stub

See also

References