Neapolitan Pizza: AVPN Rules, the TSG Label and UNESCO

"Authentic Neapolitan pizza" appears on countless menus. But what does it actually mean? There is not one label behind it but three very different things that often get mixed up: an EU quality label (TSG), a private association from Naples (AVPN) and a UNESCO listing. Let's untangle them, with the real numbers from the original documents.

Three layers at a glance

The TSG label: EU law for a pizza

On 4 February 2010 the European Commission entered the name "Pizza Napoletana" in the register of traditional specialities guaranteed with Regulation (EU) No 97/2010. In Italian that is STG, "Specialità Tradizionale Garantita".

It helps to understand that a TSG is not the same as a protected designation of origin like Parmigiano Reggiano. The European Commission describes the TSG as highlighting traditional aspects such as how a product is made or its composition, without a link to a specific geographical area. So a Pizza Napoletana TSG can be baked in Frankfurt or Manchester, provided it is made exactly according to the specification and the business is inspected.

A small side note: the AVPN's own timeline dates TSG recognition to 2004, which presumably refers to the procedure under way at the time. The name was legally registered at EU level by the 2010 regulation.

What the specification requires

The product specification annexed to the regulation is remarkably detailed. The key points:

A few details stand out. The specification requires all steps to be carried out in one continuous cycle on the same premises, so no ready-made dough balls from a wholesaler. It even states the temperatures the ingredients reach in the oven, for instance 60-65 °C in the dough and 65-70 °C in the mozzarella.

If you want the basics for your own dough, see our guide to pizza dough. The airy cornicione only comes with a very hot oven and gentle stretching by hand.

Marinara and Margherita: the three permitted toppings

The TSG knows no Hawaiian and no Quattro Stagioni. It describes exactly three toppings:

1. Marinara: 70-100 g crushed peeled tomatoes, salt, oregano, a thinly sliced garlic clove and 4-5 g extra virgin olive oil. No cheese.
2. Margherita with buffalo mozzarella: 60-80 g crushed peeled and/or chopped small fresh tomatoes, salt, 80-100 g "Mozzarella di Bufala Campana" (protected designation of origin), fresh basil, 4-5 g olive oil.
3. Margherita with Mozzarella TSG: as above, but with 80-100 g "Mozzarella STG" instead of buffalo mozzarella.

So when people speak of a "Margherita STG", they mean a Pizza Napoletana TSG with one of the two Margherita toppings. There is no separate label for the Margherita alone. Notably, fior di latte (cow's milk mozzarella) is not mentioned in the TSG specification. More on the different cheeses in mozzarella for pizza.

The AVPN: the association of true pizza

The Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana was founded in Naples in 1984, by its own account by seventeen pizza makers, and dates its first rulebook to 14 June 1984. It is a private association, not a public authority. Its aim is to promote and protect "verace pizza napoletana" in Italy and around the world, and for that it has its own rulebook, the "Disciplinare", and the collective trade mark "Verace Pizza Napoletana" (also "Vera Pizza Napoletana").

What AVPN membership means

Pizzerias around the world can apply to join the AVPN. According to the Disciplinare, the board decides after administrative and technical checks, and the association says it carries out regular inspections of its members. Members appear in the directory of associated pizzerias on the association's website. Membership tells you that a pizzeria works to the AVPN's rulebook. It is not a government label and not the same as a TSG inspection. The AVPN also runs training courses and keeps a register of trained pizzaioli.

Where the AVPN rules differ from the TSG

The AVPN rulebook is close to the TSG but more open on several points. The main differences, based on the 2024 English edition of the Disciplinare:

The longer fermentation, the permitted fior di latte and the opening to other oven types make the AVPN rulebook easier to apply day to day than the rigid EU specification. For gas or electric ovens, however, the AVPN marks the certification separately.

Floor or dome: the temperature swap

One detail causes a lot of confusion: the TSG and the AVPN use the same two figures but assign them the opposite way round. The EU specification calls for about 485 °C on the oven floor and about 430 °C in the dome. The 2024 AVPN Disciplinare instead gives about 380 to 430 °C for the floor and about 485 °C for the dome.

Neither text explains the different split. The recipe page on the AVPN website also still shows some older figures, such as 430 to 480 °C without a split and 8 to 24 hours of fermentation. For AVPN pizzerias, the current Disciplinare is what counts.

For everyday purposes a simple rule of thumb will do: Neapolitan pizza needs an oven at roughly 430 to 485 °C and bakes in 60 to 90 seconds. Which figure applies to the floor and which to the dome depends on the rulebook you follow.

UNESCO: the heritage is the craft, not the pizza

In 2017 UNESCO inscribed the "Art of Neapolitan 'Pizzaiuolo'" on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This is often shortened to "pizza is world heritage", which is not quite right.

What is recognised is a culinary practice in Naples: preparing the dough and baking it in a wood-fired oven, with the pizzaiuolo's characteristic rotating movement. According to UNESCO, around 3,000 pizzaiuoli live and work in Naples, and the know-how is passed on mainly in the "bottega", where apprentices watch the masters at work. UNESCO also highlights the social side: people coming together and sharing across generations.

There is no UNESCO label for pizzerias and no UNESCO inspection. Anyone advertising a "UNESCO pizza" is pointing to the craft, not to a certified product.

What this means for you

• If a menu says "Pizza Napoletana STG/TSG", the pizza should be made exactly to the EU specification, in a wood-fired oven, with the prescribed ingredients.
• If a pizzeria is an AVPN member, it works to the association's rulebook. You can check this in the directory on the AVPN website.
• "Neapolitan" on its own describes a style. Plenty of excellent pizzerias bake Neapolitan-style pizza without TSG or AVPN.

The story behind it all, from 18th-century street food to today's labels, is told in our history of pizza. How different pizza looks in Rome, Palermo or Turin is shown in pizza in Italy.