Whilst it looks like a pizza, this image from a Pompeian painting from 2000 years ago obviously can’t be, since some of the most characteristic ingredients are missing, namely tomatoes and mozzarella. However, as shown by a first iconographic analysis of a still life fresco, which emerged recently as part of the new excavations in the inula 10 of the Regio IX in Pompeii, what was represented on the wall of an ancient Pompeian house could be a distant ancestor of the modern dish, elevated to the status of a World Heritage element in 2017 as the “traditional art of the Neapolitan pizza chef”.
As the archaeologists of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii explains, it is possible to suppose that next to a wine cup placed on a silver tray, there is depicted a flat focaccia that functions as a support for various fruits, (that can be identified as pomegranate, and maybe a date), with spices and perhaps with a type of pesto, (moretum in Latin) as indicated by yellow and ochre dots, possibly condiments. Moreover, on the same tray, dried fruits and a garland of yellow strawberry trees are present next to the dates and pomegranate.

Such genre of images, known in antiquity as Xenia, took inspiration from the “gifts of hospitality” that were offered to guests because of a Greek tradition that came from the Hellenistic period, (III-I centuries BCE). Around 300 of these representations are