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THE history of the pizza is as colourful as the dish itself, and there are many legends associated with it.
They say a flat bread was found in the ashes of Pompeii, and in the sixth century soldiers of Darius the Great baked a flat bread on their shields and covered it with cheese and dates.
In 1889 the great chef Raffaele Esposito created a pizza with mozzarella, basil and tomatoes (the colours of the Italian flag) and presented it to Queen Margherita di Savoia.
So it was with great anticipation we visited the new Bella Italia Ristorante in Dolgellau to sample its version of this culinary delight.
Bella Italia is on the town's Marian car park in a building that once housed the boiler for the Lion Hotel. When the hotel was sold, the old boiler room was initially converted into a house and later a restaurant.
The present owners, Andrew and Heidi Vogeno, hail from Germany and came to Dolgellau to open up the Bella Italia, bringing with them their own personal touch to the Italian eating experience.
The restaurant, which can seat 60, is tastefully arranged, with wine and cream coloured walls, dark wooden floors and small intimate tables.
It was quiet on the day we decided to pop in for lunch, so we had our pick of where to sit.
We chose a corner where the walls were adorned with framed black and white photos of stars such as Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Al Pacino and Sophia Loren - the owners are big fans of old movies, particularly those with an Italian connection.
We were greeted and seated by a very friendly young waitress and ordered two glasses of Coke while we read the menu. The restaurant is fully licensed and the menu is plentiful, and the owners go back to their roots with German food night every Tuesday.
But we were there for the pizza. My son chose margeritha classico, while I opted for the pizza vegetarian. The pizzas, which are very reasonably priced, are freshly made to order and look so good they could have come straight off the streets of Naples.
The pizza vegetarian had a thin but chewy crust with crispy edges, and was liberally topped with mushrooms, mixed peppers and, of course, mozzarella - pizza would not be pizza without it.
My son's margeritha classico had the same delicious crust and was rich with tomatoes and mozzarella. While he enjoyed it very much, he felt it would have benefited from a little less cheese as it was a bit rich for him.
Although we were full, we didn't want to leave without tasting at least one of the homemade desserts. We decided to share a panna cotta, an Italian dessert made with cream, milk, sugar and gelatine and traditionally served with fruit. Ours came with blended strawberries and cream, and was delicious.
And while we could think of many words to sum up our eating experience at the Bella Italia, one says it all: "favoloso."
Takeaway is also available, but I have one tip: take cash as there's a £2 charge for card use.
Bella Italia, Gate House, Green Lane, Dolgellau
Telephone: 01341 422008
