"Of course, de Blasio is absolutely right," says NPR's longtime Rome correspondent, Sylvia Poggioli.

"The story made headlines here, too, with everyone scratching their heads, wondering if Americans don't have more serious issues to deal with," Sylvia tells us. She adds:

"Italians cut their pizzas with fork and knife and then eat the slices with their hands. One reason is that pizza is served piping hot, too hot to rip apart with your hands."

"Another issue altogether is pizza cooked in long rectangular shapes and sold at bakery or cafe counters by the slice, then it's wrapped in paper and eaten like a sandwich."

"And one last thing: Pizza would never be served in Italy at a business [lunch]."

Oh and, for what it's worth, it seems that Miss Manners is also in de Blasio's corner. Back in 1989, the etiquette expert responded to a reader's question about the proper way to tackle a slice by noting that, while hands are fine, dignity also matters.

"Grown-ups with strings of cheese all over their faces look a lot worse than young people in the same condition," she noted. "They should therefore employ forks on which to wind any hanging parts."

Update: Still, one wonders whether any of this will help de Blasio avoid the kind of savaging that Donald Trump got from comedian Jon Stewart when he tackled a slice with a fork.

"Donald Trump, why don't you just take that fork and stick it right in New York's eye?" Stewart decried. His profanity-laced response to Trump's faux pas is worth a watch.

(A hat tip to commenter Joseph Christian for reminding us of this video's existence.)

Copyright 2014 NPR.

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Italians To New Yorkers: 'Forkgate' Scandal? Fuhggedaboutit