Have you ever wondered where pizza comes from? The history of pizza is both long and fascinating. Some say the story of pizza stretches back several centuries, while others claim it can be traced over a thousand years into the past.
Today, pizza is one of the most popular dishes in the world—and for good reason! It can be made in countless variations and is a favorite among both kids and adults. With pizza’s huge popularity today, it may come as a surprise to many that it wasn’t exactly a well-regarded dish in its early days.
If you’re a true pizza enthusiast like we are, keep reading to learn how one of the world’s most beloved dishes came to be.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when the history of pizza officially begins. The pizza we know today can be traced back to the 18th century. However, some argue that the origins of pizza go much further—over a thousand years into the past.
As early as the 6th century BC, Persian soldiers were eating flatbreads topped with ingredients like cheese, dates, and herbs. Similarly, this type of flatbread with toppings was popular in ancient Greece, Egypt, and the Roman Empire. Many consider these early flatbreads to be the original ancestors of pizza.
The first known reference to these flatbreads appears in the epic poem The Aeneid by the Roman writer Virgil (70 BC – 19 BC). In it, he describes how the Trojan hero Aeneas and his crew used thin wheat cakes as plates, topping them with mushrooms and herbs. In the poem, Aeneas’ son Ascanius exclaims, “Look! We’ve even eaten our plates!”
Many interpret these wheat cakes and flatbreads as the earliest version of what we now call pizza. But the pizza we know and love today can be traced back to the 18th century—specifically to the city of Naples in southwestern Italy.
The pizza we know and love today originates from the 18th century in the Italian city of Naples. By the late 1700s, Naples was one of the largest cities in Europe, with a rapidly growing population. However, the city was marked by widespread poverty, and many residents lived on the streets.
This meant that people in Naples relied on cheap, easy-to-eat food they could grab on the go—something that allowed them to return quickly to work. Pizza became a popular choice among the poor. The simplest versions were topped with just garlic and salt, while slightly more expensive ones included cheese or tomatoes—just like today’s pizzas.
Even though pizza was popular due to its low cost and convenience, it was looked down upon by the upper classes. Food writers of the time criticized the dish, and it was excluded from cookbooks.
Pizza wasn’t truly recognized as a legitimate dish until 1889, when King Umberto I and Queen Margherita of Italy visited Naples and tasted what would become a world-famous meal. According to the story, the king and queen had grown tired of the rich, complicated French dishes served at the royal court and craved something simpler.
Raffaele Esposito, a well-known pizza chef in Naples, was called in to prepare three different pizzas for the royal couple: one topped with lard and basil, another with anchovies and sardines, and the last with tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. The final pizza became the queen’s favorite. In her honor, the pizza was named after her—thus popularizing one of the most iconic pizzas of all time: the Margherita pizza.
Pizza quickly became a more recognized and popular dish in Italy after receiving Queen Margherita’s royal seal of approval. However, it would take many years before pizza gained popularity in the rest of the world. Pizza first arrived in America in the early 20th century, as Italian immigrants began moving across the Atlantic in pursuit of the American dream. One of the first documented pizzerias in the U.S. was Lombardi’s in New York, which opened in 1905—and is still operating to this day.
It wasn’t until after World War II that pizza began spreading more widely across America. This was largely due to American and Allied soldiers being stationed in Italy, where they were introduced to this local Italian dish. The soldiers grew so fond of pizza that, once back home, they started seeking it out. As a result, pizzerias in the U.S. began gaining popularity and gradually spread across the country.
By the 1950s, pizza had become a more common and widespread food. This was partly thanks to the introduction of frozen pizza and the rise of pizza chains like Domino’s, which opened its first location in 1960. Pizza had already started to spread to other parts of Europe before the 1950s, but it was the growing popularity in America that truly launched pizza into global fame.
The dish also evolved in new directions—such as when Ike Sewell and Ric Riccardo invented the Chicago deep-dish pizza. They opened Pizzeria Uno in Chicago in 1943.
Whether pizza’s story really begins as far back as the 6th century BC, or more realistically in the 18th century, one thing is clear: this Italian dish has proven that it’s here to stay.