KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 — There are some days when the scent of flour and yeast feels more comforting than the aroma of coffee. One thinks of Naples — or rather, of the idea of Naples — where pizza is less a meal than a way of living. 

The best pizza I have ever eaten wasn’t in Naples but it was close enough. Half an hour from the city centre, I was exploring the Roman ruins of Pompeii. Mount Vesuvius in the distance, majestic but also unnerving, with the ghosts of fire and ash.