Why this town in Assam shares its name with our favorite cheesy pizza, and who borrowed it first? This tale will leave you in surprise
You've devoured its slices, admired its simplicity, and maybe even argued about the best cheese-to-sauce ratio. But what if we told you that your beloved
Margherita pizza
shares its name not just with an Italian queen—but with a small, coal-dusted town in the farthest corner of India? Welcome to Margherita, Assam, where railway tracks, royal legacies, and cheese-laden legends converge.
A Slice of Royalty in the Heart of Assam
Tucked away in the lush, forested hills of Upper Assam's Tinsukia district lies a town called Margherita—yes, spelled just like the classic pizza. This might seem like a coincidence too bizarre to be true. But the story of how this sleepy town inherited such a delectable name has roots deeper than pizza dough and richer than mozzarella.
In the 1880s, the
British Raj
was busy building railroads to extract coal from Assam's mineral-rich underbelly. To lead this ambitious engineering feat, they brought in a team of
Italian railway engineers
. Among them was one Roboto Paganini, a man of both technical brilliance and national pride. While camped by the Dehing River, Paganini christened the nearby settlement
Margherita
, in honour of Italy's newly crowned Queen Margherita of Savoy—a monarch adored across his homeland.
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Little did anyone know that this quiet homage would later echo across continents in a most unexpected form.
From Royal Palaces to Pizza Plates
Just a few years after Assam got its Margherita, Italy's Queen Margherita would receive another tribute—this time edible. In Naples, master pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito whipped up a pizza inspired by the colors of the Italian flag: red tomato, white mozzarella, and green basil. Presented to the queen during her visit in 1889, the simple dish won her heart and was named 'Pizza Margherita' in her honour.
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While food historians argue about the exact origins of this now-iconic pie—some tracing its ingredients to Neapolitan street fare as early as the 1790s—the name's royal association has stuck. Yet, few realize that a tiny Indian town bore the name
Margherita
before the pizza did.
A Taste That Transcends Borders
What's fascinating is how Queen Margherita's name has crossed oceans and class lines—beloved in both royal palaces and roadside food stalls, etched into history both as a culinary icon and a coal town. The pizza might be served on Instagrammable plates, but the town that shares its name is still fighting for a just transition from its coal-streaked past.
So, the next time you sink your teeth into a slice of Margherita, pause to savour not just the taste—but the journey of a name that traveled from royal Italy to the rain-drenched hills of Assam. It's a tale baked in history, layered with irony, and topped with a reminder that even the most familiar things can hold astonishing surprises.
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