That’s not pizza, say experts about fresco similar to famous dish at Pompeii dig

A still-life fresco recently discovered at the archaeological site in Pompeii looks like a pizza but it’s not, experts have said.

They noted that key ingredients needed to make Italy’s famous dish – tomatoes and mozzarella – were not available when the fresco was painted some 2,000 years ago.

Tomatoes were only introduced to Europe from the Americas a few centuries ago, and some histories suggest that the discovery of mozzarella led directly to the invention of pizza in nearby Naples in the 1700s.

The image is instead believed to be a focaccia covered with fruit, including pomegranate and possibly dates, finished with spices or a type of pesto, experts said.

In the fresco, it is served on a silver plate and a wine chalice stands next to it.

The contrast of the frugal meal served in a luxurious setting, denoted by the silver tray, is not unlike modern-day pizza, “born as a poor-man’s dish in southern Italy, which has won over the world and is served even in starred restaurants”, said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Pompeii archaeological site.

The ancient Roman city of Pompeii was destroyed in the eruption of nearby Mount Vesuvius in 79AD.

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.