A Brief History of Pizza: The Dish that Conquered the World

Pizza, as we know it today, is a derivative of focaccia (from the Latin word for fire), a flatbread prepared since ancient times in various forms and topped with herbs, olives, fat, raisins, honey and nuts.

In Italian, the term “pizza” refers to any sort of flatbread or pie, whether baked or fried. Pizza, as we know it today, began in Naples once the tomato landed on the table in the 1700s, despite the fact that there are various varieties of pitas or pizzas all across the Mediterranean. There are several references of pizza in Naples dating back to around the year 1000; the early mentions refer to these flatbreads as laganae, and later to picea. Pizzas were topped with garlic and olive oil, cheese and anchovies, or tiny local fish at the time. They were roasted over an open fire and occasionally split in half like a book to make a calzone, as shown below.

The earliest pizzerias, with brick wood-burning ovens coated with lava stones from Mount Vesuvius, were also established in Naples. Because pizza was considered a poor man’s cuisine at the time, chefs disregarded it, but when the novel combination with tomato first appeared in the kitchen in the 1770s, it must have piqued the interest of even the royal palace. Ferdinand I Bourbon, King of Naples, was a fan of the people’s basic cuisine and sampled pizzas from Antonio Testa’s business. He was so taken with it that he wanted it on the court’s menu. He failed due to the resistance of his wife, Queen Maria Carolina. Ferdinand II, his son, enjoyed a wide range of popular meals, including pizza. In the royal residence of Capodimonte, his son Ferdinand II adored all types of popular foods, and he loved pizza so much that he commissioned Domenico Testa, the son of the now-famous Antonio, to build a pizza oven.

Pizza became extremely popular, and it has earned a place in Neapolitan legend. As can be seen in numerous drawings of the period, it became everyone’s cuisine since it was simple and affordable. It was even served on the streets.

Pizza’s fame grew beyond the confines of Naples after a memorable occurrence. Margherita, the Queen of Italy, was in the city in 1889 on a visit. When she saw the pizza, she knew she had to taste it. Don Raffaele, a well-known chef, was requested to prepare pizza in the royal palace with the help of his wife Donna Rosa. They made three types of pizzas, one with cheese and basil, one with garlic, oil, and tomatoes, and one with mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes, all of which were typical of the period. The Queen loved the last pizza because of the colors, which resembled the national flag. Since then this pizza is known as Pizza Margherita and Don Raffaele is credited with its invention, even if we know that it existed for a long time.

The first pizzerias debuted in the United States around the turn of the century, thanks to Italian immigration, where pizza became a mass craze. The tastiest pizza, however, can still be found in Naples, where it is meticulously crafted with buffalo mozzarella. Pizza Napoletana, with tomatoes, garlic, oil, and oregano; Pizza Margherita; Pizza Marinara, with tomatoes, anchovies, capers, and olives; and Pizza Four Seasons, which is divided into four quadrants, each topped differently, are the best pizzas made by moderate variations of the simplest and most popular pizza. The American pepperoni pizza, prepared with spicy salami, is more frequent in the Calabria region south of Naples, where this sort of hot sausage is created.

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