Pizza has a long history.Flatbreads with toppings were consumed by the ancient Egyptians, Romans and Greeks. (The latter ate a version with herbs and oil, similar to today’s focaccia.) But the modern birthplace of pizza is southwestern Italy's Campania region, home to the city of Naples.
Founded around 600 B.C. as a Greek settlement, Naples in the 1700s and early 1800s was a thriving waterfront city. Technically an independent kingdom, it was notorious for its throngs of working poor, or lazzaroni. “The closer you got to the bay, the denser their population and much of their living was done outdoors, sometimes in homes that were little more than a room,” says Carol Helstosky, author of Pizza: A Global History and associate professor of history at the University of Denver.
These Neapolitans required inexpensive food that could be consumed quickly. Pizza—flatbreads with various toppings, eaten for any meal and sold by street vendors or informal restaurants—met this need. “Judgmental Italian authors often called their eating habits ‘disgusting,’” Helstosky notes. These early pizzas consumed by Naples’ poor featured the tasty garnishes beloved today, such as tomatoes, cheese, oil, anchovies and garlic.
Italy unified in 1861, and King Umberto I and Queen Margherita visited Naples in 1889. Legend has it that the traveling pair became bored with their steady diet of French haute cuisine and asked for an assortment of pizzas from the city’s Pizzeria Brandi, the successor to Da Pietro pizzeria, founded in 1760. The variety the queen enjoyed most was called pizza mozzarella, a pie topped with soft white cheese, red tomatoes and green basil. (Perhaps it was no coincidence that her favorite pie featured the colors of the Italian flag.) From then on, the story goes, that particular topping combination was dubbed pizza Margherita.
Queen Margherita’s blessing could have been the start of an Italy-wide pizza craze. But pizza would remain little known in Italy beyond Naples’ bordersuntil the 1940s.
An ocean away, though, immigrants to the United States from Naples were replicating their trusty, crusty pizzas in New York and other American cities, including Trenton, New Haven, Boston, Chicago and St. Louis. The Neapolitans were coming for factory jobs, as did millions of Europeans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; they weren’t seeking to make a culinary statement. But relatively quickly, the flavors and aromas of pizza began to intrigue non-Neapolitans and non-Italians.
One of the first documented United States pizzerias was G. (for Gennaro) Lombardi’s on Spring Street in Manhattan, licensed to sell pizza in 1905. (Prior to that, the dish was homemade or purveyed by unlicensed vendors.) Lombardi’s, still in operation today though no longer at its 1905 location, “has the same oven as it did originally,” notes food critic John Mariani, author of How Italian Food Conquered the World.
Debates over the finest slice in town can be heated, as any pizza fan knows. But Mariani credited three East Coast pizzerias with continuing to churn out pies in the century-old tradition: Totonno’s (Coney Island, Brooklyn, opened 1924); Mario’s (Arthur Avenue, the Bronx, opened 1919); and Pepe’s (New Haven, opened 1925).
As Italian Americans, and their food, migrated from city to suburb, east to west, especially after World War II, pizza’s popularity in the United States boomed. No longer seen as an “ethnic” treat, it was increasingly identified as fast, fun food. Regional, decidedly non-Neapolitan variations emerged, eventually including California-gourmet pizzas topped with anything from barbecued chicken to smoked salmon.
Postwar pizza finally reached Italy and beyond. “Like blue jeans and rock and roll, the rest of the world, including the Italians, picked up on pizza just because it was American,” explains Mariani.
Today international outposts of American chains like Domino’s and Pizza Hut thrive in about 60 different countries.Reflecting local tastes, global pizza toppings can run the gamut from Gouda cheese in Curaçao to hardboiled eggs in Brazil.
FAQs
The inventor of pizza is a highly debated topic amongst foodies and historians alike. Many people credit baker Raffaele Esposito from the Naples region of Italy for first creating the dish. Others believe that the history of pizza dates far further back than Esposito's era of the late 1800s.
Who actually invented pizza? ›
Specifically, baker Raffaele Esposito from Naples is often given credit for making the first such pizza pie. Historians note, however, that street vendors in Naples sold flatbreads with toppings for many years before then. Legend has it that Italian King Umberto I and Queen Margherita visited Naples in 1889.
What is the birthplace of pizza? ›
Naples, Italy, is often referred to as the 'home of pizza' because it is where modern pizza was invented. The city is also home to many famous pizzerias, including L'Antica Pizzeria Da Michele, featured in the book and movie, Eat Pray Love.
Who introduced pizza to America? ›
The origins of pizza, as we know it today, can be traced back to 17th century Naples, and it was brought to America by Italian immigrants in the late 19th century.
Did the Greeks invent pizza? ›
Italians developed and perfected their style of pizza making, but they were not the only culture that appreciated the ease and deliciousness of the dish. Some people even credit the Chinese with the invention, but the Greeks (and others) also had a role. The Greeks baked a flatbread known as plakous in mud ovens.
Which country eats most pizza? ›
Norway consumes the highest amount of pizza in the world. This is based on the pizza-per-person ratio. A person consumes about 11 lbs of pizza annually in Norway (still way less than I do).
Why is pizza called pizza? ›
The word pizza was borrowed from Italian into English in the 1930s; before it became well known, pizza was called "tomato pie" by English speakers. Some regional pizza variations still use the name tomato pie.
Is pizza Italian or originally from China? ›
Pizza was first invented in Naples, Italy as a fast, affordable, tasty meal for working-class Neapolitans on the go. While we all know and love these slices of today, pizza actually didn't gain mass appeal until the 1940s, when immigrating Italians brought their classic slices to the United States.
Does pineapple belong to pizza? ›
Pineapple May Mask Other Flavors
While pineapple slices are tasty, they don't make a delicious pizza topping. Your cheese and other toppings may be unnoticeable because, with a strong pineapple flavor, you risk masking all the different flavors.
What is the oldest pizza chain in the world? ›
Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba is a pizzeria in Naples, Italy, which is widely believed to be the world's first pizzeria.
One of the first documented United States pizzerias was G. (for Gennaro) Lombardi's on Spring Street in Manhattan, licensed to sell pizza in 1905. (Prior to that, the dish was homemade or purveyed by unlicensed vendors.)
Is pizza more American or Italian? ›
Professor Alberto Grandi, of Parma University, Italy, said it was the USA who the world has to thank for making pizza what it is today, as Italian immigrants took advantage of new-found ingredients to improve it.
Who actually made the first pizza? ›
Pizza was first created by the Baker named Raffeale Esposito in Naples, Italy. He was willing to invent Pizza which is totally different from other Types of Pizzas in Naples. He first came up with the idea of savoring the Pizza with cheese. Later, he added tomato sauce underneath.
What ethnicity invented pizza? ›
Modern pizza evolved from similar flatbread dishes in Naples, Italy, between the 16th and mid-18th century. The word pizza was first documented in AD 997 in Gaeta and successively in different parts of Central and Southern Italy. Pizza was mainly eaten in Italy and by emigrants from there.
Did Japan invent pizza? ›
Pizza made its first appearance in Japan following World War II, with Nicola's and Antonio's among the first restaurants to serve pizza in the 1950s. of an American Gangster in Japan by Robert Whiting. However, it was much later—around the 1600s in Naples—that pizza be- came a popular local food.
Who was Raffaele's pizza for? ›
According to a popular (but questioned) legend, Esposito was requested to prepare a pizza for Queen Margherita of Savoy, who had traveled to Naples with King Umberto I. Esposito and his wife were admitted to the royal kitchens to prepare this dish as he saw fit.
Did Vikings invent pizza? ›
About the history of pizza there are many rumors, so Norwegian scientists put forward the hypothesis that the prototype of pizza was invented by the Vikings, who cooked flatbread on the ships, using similar recipes to pizza. They had special pizza pans that helped prepare this dish using meat, vegetables and fish.
Why did Raffaele Esposito invent pizza? ›
The story of the first pizza is a popular and entertaining tale that has been told and retold for centuries. It originated from Naples, Italy in the 16th century. The original story was about a baker named Raffaele Esposito who invented this special dish to feed his hungry customers during Lent.
Where did pizza pizza come from? ›
The chain was founded by Michael Overs, who opened the first location on December 31, 1967, at the corner of Wellesley and Parliament streets in Toronto. He owned the chain until his death in 2010. It expanded throughout the Toronto area in the 1970s, and throughout the rest of Ontario throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
