Pizza Week in Sao Paulo celebrates Italian cuisine

(ANSA) - SAN PAOLO, 08 LUG - Twenty flavours to celebrate the pizza of twenty Italian regions: the Pizza Week kicks off today in São Paulo (until 14 July) to celebrate Pizza Day (10 July) with a programme of exclusive recipes of the icon of tricolour cuisine.
    The event, which stems from previous initiatives of the Italian Chamber of Commerce of São Paulo (Italcam), is being expanded this year, with the organisation of the Consulate General of Italy in the Paulist city, and as a preview of the 13th Italian Regional Cuisine Week - confirmed for the end of October.
    During the Pizza Week, 20 types of toppings will represent the 20 regions of Italy, bringing at least one typical ingredient from each territory to the tables of 18 restaurants in the city of São Paulo and two outside the capital (Indaiatuba and Sorocaba). Completing the group of participants is the pizzeria Castelões, the oldest in operation in the country, which represents the style of pizza according to the taste of the paulistas - in the year it celebrates its centenary.
    All pizzas are prepared with 100% Italian flour and peeled tomatoes, and each menu will also include the most famous margherita.
    Also on the programme (13 and 14) is an event open to the public, 'Pizza is culture', with stands of the various venues and cultural activities. And the sale of pizzas, with the same multi-regional proposal, is also planned in the space of the Italian Cultural Institute of São Paulo, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., at Av. Higienópolis, 436.
    "In the year that marks the 150th anniversary of Italian immigration to Brazil, we will celebrate this recipe in São Paulo, the most Italian city outside Italy," says the Consul General of Italy in São Paulo, Domenico Fornara, who points to pizza as one of the most important symbols of Italian cuisine.
    "Pizza is a dish that strengthens the cultural and emotional ties that unite Italians and Brazilians," explains Gerardo Landulfo, delegate of the Italian Academy of Cuisine and curator of the event.
    Italcam, the Italian Academy of Cuisine and the Institute of Italian Culture in São Paulo complete the team of organisers, which also benefits from the support of the National Tourism Agency (Enit).