Vera Pizza Day is born, the World Day of True Neapolitan Pizza, a global marathon created by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana – AVPN and dedicated to the most iconic of foods from the Bel Paese.
The day will be held on January 17 in conjunction with the Feast of Sant'Antuono, patron saint of Neapolitan pizza makers.
A festival deeply felt by the Neapolitans who celebrate the Egyptian religious and hermit with large fires, considered the founder of Christian monasticism celebrated not only by the Catholic church but also by the Lutherans and the Coptic Orthodox church. and for this reason also called Saint Anthony the Great, Saint Anthony of Egypt, Saint Anthony of the Fire, Saint Anthony of the Desert, Saint Anthony the Anchorite.
Various symbols and meanings are associated with the cult of Sant'Antonio
He was invoked in a particular way by the people, against the plague, against contagious diseases and against the so-called "St. Anthony's fire".
It was the popular "pietas" itself that attributed to him thaumaturgical powers of protection to domestic animals and that is why often in his images are shown hens, geese, rabbits, oxen, horses, etc...
But the animal that most accompanies him in the depictions is the pig (among other things, from this animal the Antonian monks obtained the fat to prepare emollients to spread on the sores caused by the shingles and other diseases).
And the combination is linked to a legend of a journey to the underworld that the saint made to steal fire from the devil and bring it to earth to warm the population which he succeeded thanks to the contribution of the animal. From the stolen fire to being elected patron saint of pizza makers, the step was short.
The traditional lighting of the "fire" of Sant'Antuono on 17 January at the AVPN headquarters in Naples will therefore kick off the event: 24 hours of live streaming with 15 free masterclasses held by AVPN representatives from 13 countries, in 12 languages different.
Dough, spreading and cooking of the pizza will be the topics covered, all obviously according to AVPN regulations, to give life to the real Neapolitan pizza.
From Capodimonte (AVPN headquarters) the baton of this virtual and delicious relay will pass to Melbourne, Australia, and then, from East to West, following the sunrise, to the pizza makers of Japan, Korea, Thailand, Russia, Egypt, Turkey, Poland, Italy, France, Spain, Brazil and the USA.
To all this will be added an important conference during which the main players in the pizza universe will be involved.
Finally, as part of the initiative, a fundraiser will be promoted for the creation of a celebratory work of the art of the Neapolitan pizza maker created by Maestro Lello Esposito. A work that will be the tangible symbol of the UNESCO recognition, which took place in 2017, of "The traditional art of the Neapolitan pizza maker" as an intangible heritage of humanity.
“It will be – underlines Antonio Pace, AVPN President – the largest operation to disseminate, on a global level, the true Neapolitan pizza and the art of the Neapolitan pizza maker. The Festa di Sant'Antuono, recently rediscovered as a moment of celebration for an entire category, will cross the borders of Naples and Italy for the first time.
It will be an important day for a profession which in the past has been too often denigrated and which today can rightly be considered a source of pride for the whole country.
An initiative that also aims to support those who are suffering more than others from the economic consequences of the delicate historical period we are facing".
Each masterclass can be followed on the Facebook pages of AVPN, its delegations, its institutional and commercial partners and on those of all its affiliates around the world.
