European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 2, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                It does t have to be round Corsica c " Naples Sardinia Vico Quensel a left Guilio Dell Amura with some other restaurant offerings. Above Pasquale puts a Long pizza in the oven. Story and photos by Gary Miller Mediterranean Bureau for Baker Gigino Dell Amura it began As simply something to do with leftover bread dough. It now feeds thousands daily. It was pizza that Dell Amura made for his friends and family from that extra bread dough. Eventually he created pizza by the meter and founded Rist Orante a Gigino in the tiny italian town of Vico Quense about 40 Miles South of Naples. Today Dell Amura s pizzeria feeds multitudes. In summer customers fill its 2,400 seats and pour out into the streets requiring the chefs to bake an estimated 10,000 pies a Day. The ranks of employees swell to 120 during the Busy season. Gigino s first pizzas were almost an instant hit. Instead of making traditional round pies Dell Amura made elongated pizzas about a foot wide and 39 inches Long. They were so popular that soon Deh Amura s bakery sold nothing but pizza. Vico Quense was always Well known for pizzas. There have been pizzerias there for More than a Century. Some local establishments even sold their pies in Long slices but Gigino acquired the right to Call his creation pizza by the  in the 1960s, Gigino decided to build a restaurant on the family s Vineyard. During excavation at the site however a 2,400-year-old necropolis was discovered. The ministry of antiquities blocked further construction at the site until the 140 bodies and thousands of artefacts were removed. That delayed construction for two years but Giulio one of Gigino s sons said the family s Good Fortune since then is a sign that the spirits of those who were buried there Are looking out for them. Restaurant revenues provide for Dell Amura s five sons and two daughters and their families. If those romans Are watching Over Gigino a it might be because they re Anicent pizza lovers. Although Many americans believe pizza was created in the states it is an italian invention. Many scholars believe it was the product of roman legionnaires returning from duty in Palestine where they made their daily ration of unleavened bread More interesting with Olive Oil and cheese. Neapolitan a say they deserve credit for further embellishments Topping the pies with soft Mozzarella. Thanks to Marco Polo they were Able to add spices and a Mariner provided the basis for a sauce when he brought the first tomatoes to Naples from Peru via Mexico in the Early 1600s. Producing such cuisine is no easy task. Ask Pasquale a pizza chef who would give Only his first name saying that s How everyone knows one another at Gigino s. Pasquale 32, has worked at Gigino s for 24 years spending most of his time in the enormous pizza Kitchen where Banks of Wood burning ovens dominate the Back Wall. Their depth he said limits the length of a pizza to two meters. As he spoke Pasquale spread dough to make a meter Long Delight on a Board two feet wide and eight or nine feet Long. The five businessmen who ordered it said they wanted a Small pizza so they d have room for some of the restaurant s other specialities. They paid 18,000 lira about $14, for a Basic meter of pizza and another $1 to $2 for each additional ingredient. Antonio who considers himself a newcomer at Gigino s because he has worked there for Only 15 years quickly covered the dough with cheese spices meats and sliced tomatoes. The two chefs made the process seem easy because of their years spent making Many thousands of pizzas a Day. Pasquale said it takes several months to learn All the techniques. As a youth he cleaned vegetables made dough and prepared the Brick ovens. Heating the oven to the proper temperature can take two to three hours. No thermometer is used to determine when the oven has reached the right temperature. The color of the Brick is the Best Way to know when the oven is ready he said. First a pizza must be placed near the coals for the dough to bake later it must be moved away from the coals to keep it from burning. At just the right moment it must be taken out of the oven. Knowing just when and How much to move the pie comes Only through experience Pasquale said and the first pizzas a new chef makes Are inedible. Whenever the restaurant is open one of Gigino s five sons is on hand to make sure the customers Are kept Happy which includes putting almost anything a customer wants onto his pizza. Well put anything on a pizza within reason Giulio said As he Shook his head except the pineapple some americans have  although pizza is Gigino s claim to Fame his business with its tanks of live lobsters and High piled Antipasto and dessert carts is a full fledged restaurant. To get there from Naples take the Highway to Salerno from the tangential a. Exit at Castellammare and follow the coast Road for 19 Kilometres about 12 Miles to Vico Quense and then follow the signs to Gigino s. Contributing to this report staff writer Alba Bragall in Naples 8 stripes Magazine february 2, 1989