Some days are not celebrated by chance: if on January 17th the whole world celebrates World Pizza Day it’s because it’s the day of Saint Anthony the Abbot, the third-century hermit who gave up his wealth to dedicate his life to others. He is considered the founder of Christian monasticism, the protector of animals, butchers, but not only.
Who is the patron saint of pizza chefs?
The saint that medieval iconography has always made us imagine holding a bell in his hand, a stick with a Tau-shaped cross and a faithful pig next to him, is the one who, according to legend he also gave fire to men to keep them warm by stealing it from hell. For this reason Sant’Antonio Abate is also the patron of fires and all those professions which are closely linked to fire, and therefore also i pizza chefi (in addition to bakers and firefighters).
Because pizza day is celebrated on January 17th
Hence the idea of making the two things coincide: celebrate the patron saint of pizza chefs and World Pizza Day on the same day, which in turn is also the formalization of a very ancient custom in Naples and beyond. On January 17, while the farmers – and many simple owners of dogs and cats – bring the animals into the squares to have them blessed by the parish priests, in various regions of the South there are also the fires in honor of Sant’Antonio Abate: in Salento they call them “focare” for example, while in Naples they are the “fucarazzi”. To gather around these bonfires that are set up in the courtyards and squares, thank the saint, pray that he brings good luck for the new year started – and last but not least celebrate (as we still do, eating pork and dancing) – since ancient times Neapolitan pizza chefs take half a day off on January 17th.
Who created World Pizza Day
The idea of celebrating January 17, the day of Sant’Antonio Abate, also as World Pizza Day was born from Neapolitan pizza chefs. To be precise, it wasVerace Neapolitan Pizza Association (AVPN) and its president Antonio Pace who, immediately after the recognition by UNESCO which consecrated the art of Neapolitan pizza chefs as an intangible heritage of humanity, saw fit to rediscover an ancient tradition by launching, in 2018, this world day which every year is celebrated with great celebrations.
How to celebrate World Pizza Day
This year, which also marks the fortieth anniversary of the Verace Pizza Napoletana Association, the World Pizza Day program (which you can find complete on Facebook) is very rich, including street meetings and live streaming that will involve experts and pizza chefs from all over the world who have joined the association by committing themselves to respect the strict regulations for the preparation of pizza. 16 countries, 22 masterclasses in 11 languages, from Australia to the United States via Italy, the Association organized a 24-hour non-stop event entirely dedicated to pizza.
The new pizza dedicated to Saint Anthony
And he also created a new one, dedicated to the protector: it’s the “pizza Sant’Antonio”with tomato and chilli pepper to symbolize the fire that protects, the sausage that recalls his inseparable pig, and the provolone del monaco, a famous specialty of the Sorrento Peninsula, which recalls among other things that this saint so venerated in the south was also the first monk in history.
