A recent find from archeologists of a fresco in Pompei illustrating what looks very similar to a pizza as well as slices of red round-shaped foodstuff in a plate has prompted some to ask me if Roman emperors consumed tomatoes, or pizza for that matter. Considering the omnipresence of the tomato in today’s Mediterranean diets and Italy’s love affair with the fruit (yes, it is officially a fruit), one could be tempted to believe that this is the case. But it is not. During Roman times, the tomato did not exist in Europe, Asia nor Africa. So, no tomatoes, no pizza for Augustus nor Attila. In fact, the tomato was introduced in Europe by Spanish explorers coming back from the Americas in the early 1520s. This Brief Response talk will discuss the tomato’s journey from the jungles of Mesoamerica to the tables of Rome.
Mario Bartolini is a retired political analyst and officer in the Canadian army reserve, with a long-held interest in Roman military history. He has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in political history from the Université de Sherbrooke, Canada, and a second master’s degree in war studies, obtained at the Royal Military College of Canada. He lives in Ottawa. He is the author of Roman Emperors: A Guide to the Men Who Ruled the Empire
