The price of the popular margherita pizza in Italy jumped by almost 30 percent compared to December last year.

This is a far greater jump in relation to the inflation rate of 12,3 percent, which occurred due to the increase in the price of energy and food, reported "Bloomberg".

Despite the Italian government spending €75 billion to help citizens with gas prices and electricity bills, pizza prices have soared.

The Italian National Institute of Statistics, as well as the Ministry of Finance, monitor the growth of the prices of basic ingredients – flour, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and olive oil.

Apart from the increase in the price of electricity, the biggest jump was observed in mozzarella, which was higher by 27 percent compared to the same period last year, as well as in flour, which went up in price by 22 percent.

These are the ingredients found in almost every Italian grocery store, although not everyone makes pizza at home.

Although there is extensive debate about which toppings are acceptable on a proper Italian pizza, margherita, along with the even simpler mozzarella-free version known as marinara, are the most prized varieties among purists.

Those types of pizzas are among the most commonly produced, which, according to the Il Gambero Rosso food guide, are baked daily around the country.

Named after Margherita di Savoy, the first queen of Italy after its unification, legend has it that the pizza margherita was originally created in honor of her visit to Naples in 1889.