San Marzano tomato tomatoes sold commercially are grown in Italy, though they are produced commercially in smaller quantities in other countries. Because of San Marzano's premium pricing, there is an ongoing battle against fraudulent product. On November 22, 2010, the Italian carabinieri confiscated 1,470 tons of canned tomatoes worth €1.2 million of improperly labeled product. San Marzano tomatoes, along with Roma tomatoes, have been designated as the only tomatoes that can be used for Vera Pizza Napoletana (True Neapolitan Pizza). San Marzano tomatoes originate from the small town of San Marzano sul Sarno, near Naples, Italy, and were first grown in volcanic soil
San Marzano Oliveto prospered there in ancient times. This hypothesis is supported by the existence of an ancient olive press in nearby Santo Stefano Belbo, and by the fact that olives continue to thrive there, although not in any great quantity, to the present day. The first human settlers to the area came from Liguria, but the first extant buildings and documentary evidence of settlement date from Roman times. Tradition has it that the four towers, now collapsed, of the present castle were built by the Romans. The history of San Marzano, like that of Moasca, Calamandrana, Rocchetta Tanaro and Calosso, is linked