Pizza Margherita may be fit for a queen, but was it really named after one?

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Pizza is one of the most popular dishes in the whole world. This simple combination of flatbread, tomatoes, and cheese flowered in Italy and then spread to the United States in the early 20th century with Italian immigrants. Pizza’s popularity exploded in America, becoming ubiquitous across the nation.

There are many different styles of pizza, but only one has a royal pedigree. The origin story began when the queen of Italy visited Naples in 1889. through the streets of the city center, Queen Margherita and her husband smelled a delicious aroma wafting from a pizzeria.

Intrigued, the couple invited the chef of the establishment, Raffaele Esposito, to the city’s Capodimonte Palace to cook the dish for them there. Esposito prepared three different kinds of pizza. One option emulated the colors of the Italian flag: It featured red tomatoes, white mozzarella, and fresh green basil.

The following day, Esposito received a letter from Camillo Galli, head of the Services of the Table of the Royal Household, which read: “ Signor Raffaele Esposito. I confirm that the three kinds of pizza prepared by you for her Royal Highness the Queen were found to be excellent.” Although Margherita enjoyed all three pizzas, she declared the red, white, and green to be her favorite. Esposito duly named it after her, and a classic Neapolitan specialty was born.

Was the pizza Margherita a savvy piece of culinary diplomacy crafted by royal officials? Having the royal family sample the food of the people would be a way to win over hearts and minds. Traditionally, the origin story has been interpreted that way. According to recent research, however, the story is not only just that, a story, but one based on forgery.

Food historians have found several key holes in the account. Probably the most damning is that the dish existed at least three decades before any royal visit to Naples. In an 1853 collection of essays about Neapolitan customs, author Emanuele Rocco describes a pizza topped with “basilico, muzzarella, e pomodoro”: basil, mozzarella, and tomatoes.

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(Fonte: National Geographic – adaptado.)

Considering the differing between active and passive voice, number the 2nd column according to the 1rst and, after that, check the alternative that presents the CORRECT sequence:

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(1) Active voice.

(2) Passive voice.

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(_) Food historians have found several key holes in the account.

(_) Pizza is one of the most popular dishes in the whole world.

(_) The three kinds of pizza prepared by you for her Royal Highness the Queen were found to be excellent.