Il Pizzaiolo, a photo from Naples, Campania

Photographer's Note

No tour of Naples would be complete without a visit to the pizzeria. I have taken you to the Pizzeria Di Matteo before and today I take you to the birthplace of the Pizza Margherita, the Pizzeria Brandi. Our Roman friends will dispute this when I say that Naples is the birthplace of the pizza. What they cannot dispute is that the Margherita pizza was developed in Naples in honour of Queen Margherita of Savoy who liked the "Italian Tricolour" of the red tomatoes, the white of the mozzarella cheese and the green of the basil.

Pizza Brandi was first opened in 1780, with the Pizzeria Port'Alba producing pizzas since 1738. Pizzas were sold on the streets of Naples since the 16th Century. Purists will say that the only true pizzas are those of the Margherita and the Marinara. Marinara is so-called not because it contains seafood (it doesn't) but because it was made by the wives of mariners for their husbands when they came home from work. Purists also decree that the pizza must be rolled by hand to no less and no more than 35mm and cooked only in a domed wood-fired oven, at a heat of 485 degrees for 60 to 90 seconds. It must use only tomatoes from San Marzano, grown on the foothills of Mt Vesuvius, and buffalo mozzarella, preferrably from Salerno.

The word "pizza" has several possible origins:

1. The Ancient Greek word πικτή (pikte), "fermented pastry",
2. which in Latin became "picta", and Late Latin pitta then
3. The Ancient Greek word πίσσα (pissa, Attic πίττα, pitta), "pitch",or ptea, "bran"
4. The Nepalese word "pihz" (a copious amount of dairy product, in this case cheese) combined with the root "zha" (which translates roughly to "in addition to other things"). In this theory, our modern concept of pizza was introduced to Southern Italians sometime in the 11th century along central Asian - Southern Europe trade routes.
5. The Latin word “pinsa”, the past participle of the verb “pinsere” which means to pound or to crush and may refer to the flattening out of the dough.
6. The Latin word “picea” which describes the blackening of bread in the oven or the black ash that gathers at the bottom of the oven.
7. The Italian word “pizzicare” meaning “to pluck” and refers to pizza being “plucked” quickly from the oven (“Pizzicare” was derived from an older Italian word "pizzo" meaning “point”)
8. The Aramaic word “pita” (as פיתא) which exists in the Babylonian Talmud, referring to bread in general
9. The Old High German word “bizzo” or “pizzo” meaning “mouthful” (related to the English words “bit” and “bite”) and was brought to Italy in the middle of the 6th century AD by the invading Lombards.

Canon 5D
f/5
1/80 seconds
ISO 1000
40mm

krzychu30, bema, ikeharel, ourania, Sonata11, baddori, jjcordier, lpi, macjake, tyro, PecoBud, Didi, danos, francio64, lakshmip1949, Silvio1953 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

sabermonajati (7577) 2012-05-15 5:27

hi lisa
interesting place and pleasant color you choose for this frame.
have nice day
saber

notrap (4680) 2012-05-15 5:37

Hello Lisa,
who cares where the word comes from when the smell of a delicious pizza is in the air? I like your pp, it creates an ancient look, fitting well for this famous pizzeria.
Kind regards,
Elvira

Oceania (2117) 2012-05-15 5:42

Nostalgic style, very nice.

carlo62 (12518) 2012-05-15 5:51

Ciao Lisa
una vera e propria fotografia d'altri tempi.
Gli si addice molto, vista la storicità dell'azienda.
Un gran bel lavoro.
Saluti
Carlo

sacimar (25957) 2012-05-15 6:29

Hello Lisa,

good image of this place, I like the visual effect of the picture, you had a good idea and the result is interesting, well seen,

Un abrazo,

Sergio

krzychu30 (8817) 2012-05-15 7:18

Hello Lisa,
beautiful composition.I like the sephia effect,which makes the picture gets kind of "historical" dimension and we feel the part of this history.By the way,excellent note about invention of Pizza Margherita.
Kind Regards
Krzysztof

besnard (48759) 2012-05-15 7:42

Bonjour Lisa
On la croirait sortie d'un vieil film en noir et blanc. C'est d'une grande netteté, c'est bien cadré et bien réussi.
Merci pour le partage et bonne journée.
Nicole

ikeharel (37254) 2012-05-15 8:42

Perfectly composed Lisa, as it was in the 19th century...
First i looked at the date to be sure.
Nice moment collected, face expression, and the missing smell of a Pizza-Napolitana...
Ike

bayno (16149) 2012-05-15 10:13

Ciao Lisuzza,
non ho letto attentamente la nota...lo farò in seguito, non so esattamente da dove è nata la parola Pizza, ma so di sicuro che è stata inventata a napoli per la visita della regina Margherita...da cui ha preso il nome Pizza Margherita. La tua foto è strepitosa...sembra una foto d'epoca, ottima la scelta del B&W e se non sbaglio hai applicato un leggero effetto di vignettatura, belli i toni e bella l'inquadratura....brava come al solito...
Un abbraccio...
Valter

Ps...ho risposto al tuo commento riguardo le vecchie galline ehehehe

Bluejeans (64221) 2012-05-15 10:33

Ola Lisa ,
Bela escolha pelo preto e branco gostei do efeito nevoeiro nas laterais da foto deu um aspeto de 1920 , os detalhes estão muito bons , gostei do homem na foto , parabéns!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

Jeppo (17623) 2012-05-15 12:11

tu voli a pizza a pizza a pizza co a pummarola n'coppa!

going to napoli without tasting the pizza in the city where it was created (don't listen to the Americans that are pretending they created it!) is just like going to Paris without seeing the Eifel tower

ciao
jeppo

ourania (12331) 2012-05-15 13:00

Ciao cara Lisa,
bella ed effettiva composizione per presentare il pizzaiolo nella sua cucina. la composizione `e piutosto simmetrica e fa l' impressione di ordine e competenza superba. La nitidezza `e buonissima in quest' immagine scolorata di tonalit`a sottili e dolci. `E un' immagine senza tempo, il regno umile e glorioso del pizzaiolo che continua la tradizione. Complimenti e grazie!
tanti saluti, bona giornata,
Ourania

Sonata11 (28273) 2012-05-15 20:56

Hello Lisa,
I like very much a sephia color which make the fabulous effect like from old album. Wonderful captured this scene made with photographic skills. I really love it. Congratulations. Thanks for sharing. Awesome shot!!!!
Best regards,
Barbara

baddori (18988) 2012-05-15 23:03

Lisa
Presentare in modo diverso e le cornici elaborate.......prima trovavano la severità dei "controllori di TE.
Adesso la massima libertà, con il massimo risultato.
Vecchia Napoli vecchia pizza.....quella in strada e fritta.
GF

jjcordier (62280) 2012-05-15 23:13

Lisa
Excellent travail de PP qui donne un air de carte postale ancienne à ta photo. Une très belle idée parfaitement bien réalisée.
Amicalement
JJ

emka (58078) 2012-05-15 23:25

Ciao cara Lisa, It seems you made this photo when they started to make pizza. great idea and perfect presentation. I like the piles of boxes waiting for pizza. Interesting note, difficult to choose what is the right origin. Amazing what career pizza made all over the world. But I eat rather something local and pizza only in Italy. Superb TE contribution.

Have a nice evening

MAlgo

dkmurphys (36737) 2012-05-16 1:47

Ciao Lisa,
Very artistic capture. A lovely symbolic image for Napoli. Well taken!

Daniel

lpi (4424) 2012-05-16 3:56

Salut Lisa!
Un endroit mythique de la pizza margherita, que j'ai même pas visité!
j'aime le traitement de ton cliché et l'ambiance qu'il dégage, il ne manque plus que la bonne odeur de ce lieu!
Amicalement,
Lpi

macjake (39207) 2012-05-16 6:15

Hi Lisa
now that you mention the word, Pizza is a strange collection of letters isn't it.

But i certainly love to eat it.
by looking at this photo, one would think it was photographed in the 1950's or something. I like the look that created all around the edges, very well done.
And i'm sure many people are saying this, but if it were full color alot of that nastalgia would be lost.
cool shot.
Off to work now....
see ya
craig

Waylim (22349) 2012-05-16 8:38

Hi Lisa,

the sepia tone and the feathered edge give an essence of old and vintage quality. I like that effect here for this one. Reminded me of when I was in college, I work in a pizza joint for a couple of year, yes, I can toss the dough up in the air and catch it and not drop on the floor :) though we use a ring to cut them so they are all even sizes. I would really need it but they insisted we all do. Good old days.

Way

tyro (13043) 2012-05-16 9:40

Ciao Lisa,

Yet again, another fascinating note. And I had always thought that "pizza" meant "a pie" - how silly of me. But it sounds as though there are many prospective candidates for the true origins of the word!

Funnily enough, your description of the cooking of pizzas reminded me that bread, of course, was always baked in the past in big stone ovens set into a wall: the idea was that you lit a big fire in the oven to heat up all the stonework, then you raked out the fire and plopped the dough inside. Trouble was that the bottom of the bread would be covered in ash and debris - that part of the loaf would be given to the servants, whereas the posh people got the "upper crust"! Interesting, eh? But you probably knew that already!

This is a very interesting photograph and I love the "negative vignetting" if that's what it's called - you know what I mean. It works perfectly in black and white and the contrasts and tones are lovely. Perfect exposure and stunning sharpness. Was this done using Silver Efex Pro?

Fabulous!

Kind Regards,

John.

mauro61 (52527) 2012-05-16 13:50

ciao Lisa,
bravissima nel concepire in PP questa immagine con la scelta del bianco e nero e nella resa soft del tutto.
Molto bella,
un abbraccio
maurizio

PecoBud (3778) 2012-05-16 17:56

Beautiful stoves they have there and the way you've presented them are very artistic and nostalgic looking. Excellent choice of color and light and your POV is perfectly composed. Very tasty photo Lisa, great job!!

TFS............Your Friend from California...........Buddy

willperrett (2955) 2012-05-17 0:59

Hello Lisa
I couldn't resist a comment on this one! Very good post-processing has given a old-time feel to the shot. I was going to ask what technique you used, but I see the answer in your reply to John (tyro)!
Regards
Will

Didi (48882) 2012-05-17 3:43

Hi Lisa
Like an old picture, very Interesting scene
I saw the same in colour and this one is much better.
Best regards

danos (73946) 2012-05-17 4:06

Ciao Lisa,
very nice the optical effect of the scene in the interior of the Pizza Brandi. like this whiteness format as remind something from the oldies.Good presentation.

Regards,Danos

francio64 (38188) 2012-05-17 4:46

Ciao Lisa,
conosco questa famosa pizzeria di Napoli.
alcuni anni fa ho avuto modo di mangiare una pizza qui. Davvero buona!
Ottimo il trattamento in bianco e nero. Complimenti!

TFS!
Cicc

marcan44 (6223) 2012-05-17 9:53

Cara Lisa,
complimenti per questa foto che sembra al primo impatto datata a causa di questo elegante B&W.
Il pizzaiolo e i forni potrebbero senz'altro essere di un altro secolo, poi guardando bene vediamo impilati i contenitori in cartone per le pizze da asporto.
In ogni caso grazie dell'illusione e della tua sempre fervida fantasia artistica.
Un abbraccio
Mario

lakshmip1949 (19110) 2012-05-17 13:29

Hello Namaskar dear Lisa,

How did you get such a beautiful image? Looks like an early 20th century image. You have composed very skilfully showing all the details.The black and white colors go well here. I like the way the sharpness and atmosphere.

Lakshmi

Silvio1953 (98051) 2012-05-18 10:22

Ciao Lisa, dalle vongole alla pizza, ma mangi sempre?
Hai ragione andare a Napoli e non entrare per una pizza qui è come andare a Roma e non vedere il Papa, bella conversione in seppia col pizzaiolo al lavoro, brava, ciao Silvio

chawax (14880) 2012-05-18 13:37

Hi Lisa,
I love the sepia tones that make the photo look like an old postcard. I heard that french people were the biggest pizza consumers in the world ! And well, I love pizzas too. And the best pizzas I ever ate were in Italy when I've been there about 15 years ago ;)
Regards,
Olivier

lilito (3448) 2012-06-04 3:16

Bonjour Lisa

Quel beau rendu! Une image comme celles d'avant, on a l'impression de voyager dans le temps!!!

Lily