[_ZeD_]

As a barese, I cannot let it go: here in Bari there is a total separation between pizza and focaccia. I know in other parts of Italy the difference is smoothered, but

A pizza is only made in pizzeria, is baked directly into the wood stove, over the marble

A focaccia is only made in panificio, is baked into a baking tray

Btw a focaccia barese is a total specific thing (always with oil, olive, and tomato pieces) it was a shock to know this thing does not exist outiside my city

[lucaspiller]

This is the big issue with 'defining' pizza and many other Italian dishes - Italians themselves can't decide how it should be and love to debate these things over and over (usually while eating food)!

Carbonara is another highly debated dish - here in Roma (where it is was supposedly born ~50 years ago) some people insist you only need egg, where as others insist you need egg and cheese (and then there is the debate over what cheese). I've heard some restaurants stopped serving the dish to prevent heated arguments with their customers.

Even the word for bags in a supermarket can't be agreed on. Here we use "buste", where as in the north they use "sacchetto". Our word there means envelope, so obviously you will get a funny look if you ask for three envelopes when paying for your groceries (the joke is on us though, we use that word for envelope too :P).

Further reading:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2016/02/origins-history-of-roman-...

[toothbrush]

> Even the word for bags in a supermarket can't be agreed on. Here we use "buste", where as in the north they use "sacchetto". Our word there means envelope, so obviously you will get a funny look if you ask for three envelopes when paying for your groceries (the joke is on us though, we use that word for envelope too :P).

Ha, that reminds me of sac in the north of France versus poche (the word northerners would use for the thing in their trousers) as used in the south(-west?) to designate a plastic bag in a supermarket...

[switch007]

I am slightly biased being part Italian, but we should celebrate diversity. Italy was unified only in 1860 – the area was various republics/city-states/etc prior to that. I love the regional variations of dishes. I love the Italian people's passion for food.

[riffraff]

focaccia genovese is also a totally different thing. "Focaccia" in general is underspecified.

FWIW, "pizza bianca" is also underspecified, as in many parts of center italy, it might refer to pizza baked from bread makers using the same dough ad the bread rather than pizza dough, just flattened.