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The birth of Pizza Margherita, the historic center of Naples.

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Neapolitans have strong opinions about how pizza should be made.

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The dough has to be thick with a raised rim and its texture must be firm yet moist.

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This is the famous Margherita pizza.

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A legendary pizza master, Raffaele Esposito, invented this pizza in the 19th century.

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It is known as the Queen of Pizzas.

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After the fall of the Roman Empire, Naples was ruled by various foreign powers.

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The Castle del Orvo was built by the Normans who arrived here in the 12th century.

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One hundred and twenty years later, the French came here and built another huge castle.

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Many artists and writers, such as Giovanni Boccaccio, came to Naples from Florence to

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the north, and an elegant court culture flourished.

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Splendid food must have been served in the palace, but regular citizens were eating simple

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pizzas like this.

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No ingredients like olive oil were used.

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Pizzas were made simply with some lard spread over the dough and topped with fish like sardines

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and whitebait caught during the day.

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It was only after another foreign power came to the city that pizzas became more sophisticated.

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The Kingdom of Spain ruled Naples for over two hundred years from the late 15th century

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onwards.

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This palace was the residence of the Spanish Governor General.

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The interior is impressive, the staircase here is entirely of marble.

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However, during the Great Age of Discovery, the Governor General was too busy exploring

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the New World and never had time to visit the palace.

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Spain brought many unique vegetables from the New World back to Naples.

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In the 19th century, Italy was finally unified and Naples was finally free from foreign control.

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Tomatoes were brought from the New World during Spanish rule.

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They are a key ingredient in pizza and margherita.

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After Italian unification, the King and Queen of Italy visited Naples for the first time,

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and the Queen invited the great pizza master, Osposito, to the palace.

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To commemorate the unification of their country, he invented a new pizza inspired by the colors

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of the national flag.

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Tomatoes for red, mozzarella for white, and basil for green.

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The Queen was delighted and asked him what this pizza was called.

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Osposito immediately answered, it is named Margherita, in your honor, your majesty.