The pizza that’s taking the Winter Olympics by storm

The Winter Olympics are certainly not Naples–Capri territory. And yet, despite being well outside Italy’s traditional pizza heartlands, among the athletes arriving between Milan, Cortina and the Lombardy peaks it seems that no one is talking about anything else but pizza. At least, that’s what Reuters reports. One of the world’s leading news agencies interviewed the first athletes to arrive in Livigno in recent days. From 5 to 22 February, the Alpine resort hosts the Olympic freestyle skiing and snowboarding events, and the verdict was unanimous: “We haven’t stopped eating pizza since we arrived in Italy.”

Pizza fever (pasta, gelato and other stereotypes)

“I’ve eaten pizza every day,” says a US freestyle skier in a video published by the agency on Instagram, “at every meal except breakfast.” “Yesterday I had a Margherita, reinforced with a bit of ham and a steak,” echoes an Austrian skier, clearly delighted, even if he admits that someone gave him a sideways look. In the same reel, a voice in the background reminds everyone that while pizza may be a national glory, the local speciality is actually polenta (apparently something even Reuters’ social media managers overlooked). The video prompted plenty of amused comments (“and that’s pizza in Livigno, don’t let these guys get to Naples”), reinforced by another Reuters article on the Olympic food offering – inevitably a key focus for a sporting event in Italy – which reports that pizza was also the top choice for the US Big Air snowboarders’ dinner, straight after their first training session on Monday. Some athletes even talked about pizza, pasta and gelato during the press conference, admitting that they had kicked off their Italian stay in full indulgence mode.

Ristorante Garden, Hotel Alpina – Livigno (SO)

The pizza taking Livigno by storm

But more specifically: which pizza is driving athletes wild among the Alps of Alta Valtellina? Livigno is a tourist destination – like nearby Bormio – that naturally boasts a very diverse food and wine scene. There are many venues which, alongside traditional local specialities such as sciatt, pizzoccheri or polenta taragna (worth spelling out for the more curious sportspeople), also offer the most famous dishes of Italian cuisine. What caught Reuters’ attention in particular is the Garden restaurant run by the Trabucchi family.

Since 2010 it has been located inside Hotel Alpina, a historic Livigno hotel with 140 years of history. It’s a classic venue, with Swiss pine wood dining rooms, Valtellinese traditional dishes, grilled meats and pizzas. The pizzas are thin-based and, topping-wise, often quite imaginative: from a four-cheese pizza with Dop Casera to a Marinara with king prawns, all the way to a red “Tropical” topped with ham and pineapple.

Asked about the popularity of his pizza among athletes, Roberto Trabucchi said: “You can eat pizza all over the world, but perhaps ours is special because of its simplicity and the high quality of the ingredients we use to top it.”

Who would have thought that Livigno might one day become famous for pizza.