19 are the countries involved with Qatar and the Philippines as new entries. Twenty-two are the masterclasses for the 24-hour around-the-world event dedicated to pizza, scheduled for Friday, Jan. 17, on the feast day of Sant’ Antuono. Great is the wait for the connection with Concordia Base in Antarctic.
The Verace Pizza Napoletana Association, partner of the SIGEP World in Rimini with Pizza Club, the new talk and show cooking space entirely dedicated to the queen of doughs.
The new year opens with a calendar full of appointments for the Verace Pizza Napoletana Association, starting with the long-awaited Vera Pizza Day, the non-stop marathon to tell the story of the pizza and its cultural value in all continents. The initiative, like every year, will take place on the feast day of Sant'Antuono Abate, the Patron Saint protector of pizza makers. The 24-hour around the world event, as usual, will start at the stroke of midnight on Friday, Jan. 17, with the lighting of the traditional St. Antuono fire at the AVPN Naples headquarters in Capodimonte.
In this edition, True Pizza Day will cross 19 countries, including the new entries consisting of Qatar and the Philippines. As many as 22 masterclasses are scheduled, all live on AVPN's YouTube channel @pizzanapoletanaverace, for an entire pizza-themed day spanning all continents. Among them, highly waited, is the one with scientists from the Concordia Base in Antarctica.
“We can proudly say“ says Antonio Pace, President of AVPN, ‘that this ’creation” of ours, Vera Pizza Day, has now become a worldwide event, the benchmark appointment for the entire community of pizza makers and pizza lovers from all the continents. A unique format that in each edition involves great masters of the white art and millions of enthusiasts, underlining the importance of pizza as a symbol of global connection.”
Also relevant are the Sant'Antuono Awards, given each year, in collaboration with the Univerde Foundation, to several personalities from various fields, who have particularly distinguished themselves in the popularization, defense and promotion of pizza. To receive them, in the 2025, will be Rosanna Romano, Director General for Cultural Policies and Tourism Campania Region; Flavia Sorrentino, Vice President of the Naples City Council; Monica Piscitelli, food and wine journalist; and Laura Accomazzo, General Manager of Nui Nui Publishing House. True Pizza Day sees the participation of world-class partners such as Molino Polselli, Latteria Sorrentina, Gimetal and Acunto.
At the end of True Pizza Day, the Verace Pizza Napoletana Association will take the stage at SIGEP World, from January 18 to 22 at the Rimini Fair, with the Pizza Club, at Pavilion B8, which will also host a “signed” AVPN booth. The program will be nourished through conferences, masterclasses and talks, conceived and managed by AVPN, for an ideal meeting point between the community of enthusiasts and professionals in the field. A hub that will see master pizza makers, chefs, journalists and communicators of the sector in dialogue to learn more about processing techniques, from doughs to baking and toppings, but also to learn about the origins and traditions related to pizza and discover new trends in the field.
The Pizza Club's calendar of meetings will open on Saturday, Jan. 18, with Il Caffé col Presidente, the talk that, each morning at 11 a.m., will feature AVPN President Antonio Pace in dialogue with internationally renowned guests such as Michelin-starred chef Gennarino Esposito, AIS President Sandro Camilli and Association Secretary General Paolo Surace. The first day will continue at noon with the “Generazione Verace” cooking show with master pizza makers Ciro and Antonio Coppola, which will be followed by the conference “La Pizza Napoletana e la sua autenticità senza confini” moderated by Andrea Lupini, scheduled by 2:30 pm. This will be followed by the awarding of the Best AVPN Pizzeria 2024, the association's competition featuring pizza chefs from all over the world as judges, and closing at 4 p.m., the masterclass “Margherita and Her Sisters” with Francesco Pone and Fulvio Belfiore.
On Sunday, Jan. 19, the 12 p.m. show cooking will feature Antonello Cioffi, followed at 2:30 p.m. by the conference “The Future of Pizzeria Training in the World. The New Trends of 2025,” moderated by Andrea Lupini. At 4 p.m. Vincenzo Esposito, master pizza maker from Carmnella (Naples), will present the masterclass “Margherita and Her Sisters.”
The day of Monday 20 will open at 12 p.m. with cooking show by Gianmarco Ferrandi and Giacomo Devoto, one-Michelin-star chefs; space will then be given to the conference “Artisanal Pizzeria Chains: from New Trend to Established Reality” moderated by Antonio Puzzi and scheduled by 2:30 p.m., which will be followed by the masterclass “Margherita and Her Sisters” with Ciro Salvo of 50 Kalò.
On Tuesday, Jan. 21, the cooking show “Generazione Verace: Pizza and Cooking” will feature Luca Tudda and Corrado Scaglione in dialogue, which will leave space for the conference on the Socio-Economic Observatory of Neapolitan Pizza moderated by Antonio Fucito. The new project that aims to analyze and understand the business of Neapolitan pizza born from the collaboration of AVPN with the University of Naples Parthenope, FIPE Confcommercio Campania and the Department of Human and Social Sciences, Cultural Heritage of the National Research Council (CNR-DSU). In conclusion, starting at 4 p.m., the masterclass “Margherita and her sisters” with Luca Di Massa and Gennaro Langella and, on the last day, that of Wednesday 22, the show cooking “Generazione Verace” with Mirko D'Agata.
The evenings of the event will all end with a convivial moment, the Aperipizza, which will combine pizza with good music.
