'Pizza' precursor found in Pompeii

ROME — A fresco that depicts what might be an ancestor of Italian pizza has been found in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, Italy's Ministry of Culture said on Tuesday.

Archaeologists presume that the flat-bread depicted in the painting, next to a wine goblet, may have been eaten with fruits such as pomegranates or dates, or dressed with spices and a type of pesto sauce, the ministry said.

While it cannot technically be considered a pizza — since key ingredients needed to make Italy's iconic dish such as tomatoes and mozzarella were not available when the fresco was painted some 2,000 years ago, what was found in Pompeii "could be a distant ancestor of the modern dish", said experts at the archaeological site in a statement.

The fresco was discovered in the hall of a house that had a bakery attached to it, which was partly excavated in the 19th century and where digging resumed in January, the ministry said.

Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Pompeii archaeological site, said the newly uncovered fresco shows the contrast between "a frugal and simple meal, which refers to a sphere between the bucolic and the sacred … and the luxury of silver trays and the refinement of artistic and literary representations".

"How can we fail to think, in this regard, of pizza, also born as a 'poor' dish in southern Italy, which has now conquered the world and is also served in starred restaurants," Zuchtriegel added.

Pompeii, destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, is only about 23 kilometers away from Naples, the modern-day home of the Italian pizza. The sudden and deadly event left much of the structure intact, embalmed in volcanic ash, and the site is now a major archaeological project and tourist attraction.

Agencies via Xinhua