ROME—A fresco that depicts what might be an ancestor of the Italian pizza has been found on the wall of an house in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, Italy’s Culture Ministry said on Tuesday.
Archaeologists presume that the flat bread depicted in the painting, next to a wine goblet, may have been eaten with fruits such as pomegranates or dates, or dressed with spices and a type of pesto sauce, the ministry said.
While it cannot technically be considered a pizza, since it lacks classic ingredients such as tomato and mozzarella, what was found in Pompeii “may be a distant relative of the modern dish,” according to a statement….