Italy bakes 2.7 billion pizzas a year.

Pizza is the culinary symbol of Italy for 89 per cent of Italians, according to a poll commissioned by Italian agricultural lobby Coldiretti ahead of World Pizza Day on Wednesday.

In the survey conducted by Ipsos, Italians placed pizza just above pasta (88 per cent) as best representing Italian cuisine, with wine on 59 per cent and cappuccino on 51 per cent.

Hailing pizza as a "Made in Italy treasure", Coldiretti stressed the role of pizza in Italian society, particularly among families, noting that around a third of Italians regularly make Margherita pizza at home.

According to legend, the Margherita was invented in June 1889 in honour of Queen Margherita of Savoy when Neapolitan pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito created a pizza topped with tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, to represent the colours of the Italian flag.

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With an estimated annual turnover of €15 billion, pizza is big business in Italy where 2.7 billion pizzas are baked every year - according to Coldirettti - requiring 200 million kg of flour, 225 million kg of mozzarella, 30 million kg of olive oil and 260 million kg of tomato sauce.

World Pizza Day, known in Italy as Giornata Mondiale della Pizza, is held on the feast day of Anthony Abbot - or S. Antonio Abate - the patron saint of pizzaioli as well as the protector of animals.