Pizza Margherita Pizza Margherita Pizza Margherita is a typical Neapolitan pizza, made with San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella fior di latte, fresh basil, salt and extra-virgin olive oil. A widespread belief says that in June 1889 the pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito, Pizzeria Brandi's chef, invented a dish called ""Pizza Margherita" in honor of the Queen of Italy, Margherita of Savoy, and the Italian unification, since toppings are tomato (red), mozzarella (white) and basil (green), representing the same colors of the national flag of Italy. The legend of pizza Margherita is considered a false history, as a pizza made with the same toppings was already
San Marzano tomato in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. One story goes that the first seed of this tomato came to Campania in 1770, as a gift from the Viceroyalty of Peru to the Kingdom of Naples, and that it was planted in the area of San Marzano sul Sarno. In the United States, San Marzano tomatoes are the genetic base for another popular paste tomato, the Roma tomato. The Roma is a cross between a San Marzano and two other varieties (one of which was also a San Marzano hybrid) and was introduced by the USDA's Agricultural Research Service in 1955. San