Historical, structured, passionate association, we will enter the heart of the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana ( true Neapolitan pizza association ) and open the curtain on the people who work so hard for the dissemination and protection of a great product.
A meeting in 6 parts, 6 of the protagonists of a 40-year-old story, an international reality that obviously starts from the city of pizza in 1984 when Antonio Pace (the president) decided to write precise rules for the preparation and processing of pizzas “VERACE”, making use of the help and experience of the old Neapolitan master pizza makers for the codification of the rules and the disciplinary.
( Part 1 - The Presidency - Antonio Pace )
What should we call you? Sign Pace or Mr. President?
Call me what you want, I'm not offended in either case (smiling)
Mr. Antonio, why did you decide to run this initiative, why did you think of giving rules to Pizza?
“Many years ago we started our associative activity and decided to immediately impose rules on ourselves and drew up our own disciplinary. However, we were faced with the need to make simplifications to make the whole world understand the characteristics of Neapolitan pizza in a simple way and therefore we only regulated the margherita and the marinara. Today, even if there is still a lot to do, Neapolitan pizza is a global product and therefore open to numerous other ingredients and raw materials of excellence. Our current associative activity fits into this path in which, through events and tastings, in Italy and abroad, we want to make Neapolitan pizza a driving force for the international development of the numerous gastronomic excellences of our beautiful country".
When is a pizza not Neapolitan according to the president of the true Neapolitan pizza association?
“The Neapolitan pizza is a disk of dough made according to a traditional production process, a disk on which all the imagination of the pizza maker can be expressed. As I have been saying for some time, it is not a slice of ham that makes a pizza non-Neapolitan, therefore always respecting the rules of good gastronomic taste, the Neapolitan Pizza is open to new things about pizza”.
You have seen generations of pizza makers, traditional and modern, UNESCO has declared that the Neapolitan pizza maker belongs to history, to the tradition of pizza.
“The recognition by Unesco is a light on what is already known to all. Neapolitan pizza and the art of pizza makers are already a World Heritage Site today. Pizza is one of the icons of Naples, a must for all tourists who come to the city and therefore I consider this recognition as a seal of a journey, which will only do good for pizza and the city".
Avpn has a renowned training program, what is it about?
The Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN), has immediately given enormous importance to the training of aspiring pizza makers and the improvement of professionals. Today at the Capodimonte headquarters in Naples and the various AVPN Schools around the world (America, Brazil, Australia, Japan, Poland, Spain and Turkey) you can attend numerous courses dedicated to Neapolitan pizza including the basic course, extra training, mother yeast, true gluten-free pizza, true baker, fried pizza.
The AVPN, in addition to training professional pizza makers, has for some years developed a new project aimed at an amateur target and thanks to the passion of our Piazzaioli Veraci it has managed to convert simple amateurs into successful professionals.
The AVPN school stands out for the consolidated know-how, the prestige and authority of the teachers, the interactive theoretical-practical method, the integration with a network of excellence and the most important operators in the sector. Thanks to our team we are able to satisfy every need, even those who ask for ad hoc support anywhere in the world.
what is the specific process that you require to become certified?
Pizzerias to be certified has to pass a course that lasts 3 months at least, featured by a double verification. In the first stage pizzerias will send to AVPN’s head office in Naples some videos on the different phases of the production of pizza that will be examined by an expert technical committee. Once you passed this first stage, a maestro pizzaiolo from the Association will be sent to inspect your pizzeria to confirm what you have sent in the video. After this second approval the pizzeria could be affiliate to Association and get the exterior signage.
what defines a Neapolitan pizza crust?
According to our Regulation, pizza must be round with a maximum diameter of 35cm and a crust of 1-2cm, swollen, golden colored and without or with a little amount of bubbles and burns. The central part must be maximum 3mm thick and lifting up a side of the pizza, the bottom must be golden and without evident burns.
During your career you have released countless interviews, your irony always manages to cheer up your statements, I would like to share the video of this interview in Sydney held by the great Paolo Rajo of the Italia Sydney network,
Eh, bravo, so you save yourself the work of writing, go for it
if you need, please use automatic youtube translator
President, would you like to greet our friends with your message that represents you?
I am an optimist by nature because I think that an optimist is someone who believes in others, while a pessimist believes only in himself. This is why I wanted to create an Association. Alone I could not have done all that has been done and as I always repeat until boredom: "The Neapolitan Pizza has no inventors, it has no fathers, it has no inventors, but it is the result of the genius of the Neapolitan people".
