The History of Italian Pizza

Pizza is undoubtedly one of the best known dishes in Italian cuisine, together with pasta. However, the history of Italian pizza is extraordinarily complex and it is difficult to establish who exactly invented the pizza. Indeed, there are various theories on its origins. In this article, we’ll talk about some of them!

First of all, the idea of ​​pizza is straightforward as it consists of a disc of dough made with flour, water and yeast. On top of it, there can be placed various ingredients, usually before cooking. According to this description, pizza’s origin could date back to 3.000 BC, when the use of yeast was already known. 

Moreover, even in ancient Greece, there were specialties involving discs of bread called plakous. Even the Persians cooked flat-shaped bread, using their own shields for baking them in that particular shape. 

We could add to this list Egyptians, who already knew the use of yeast in ancient times. And the Romans, who would use flours obtained from various cereals to cook pasta discs. 

Therefore, it is not possible to determine precisely where pizza comes from. Still, we can see how it evolved during the centuries.

The history of Pizza: the Mastunicola pizza

As it’s known in Italy, pizza was created in the Kingdom of Naples between the 16th and 17th century. This is the so-called Mastunicola pizza (in dialect, “by the master Nicola”): the topping involved the use of lard, sheep’s cheese, pepper and basil. 

Another preparation that spread throughout the Kingdom of Naples was the pizza alla cecinelli (dialect for “whitebait”).

The addition of tomato to the ingredients didn’t appear in Italy until the middle of the 18th century. Neapolitan pizza makers began to add tomato sauce. They even conquered the attention of the Bourbons (the reigning family at that time).

But how has pizza become so legendary? The judgment of Queen Margherita of Savoy didn’t go unnoticed. It soon became a point of reference for the most common flavor of pizza.

History of Margherita pizza

Margherita pizza is an essential part of the history of Italian pizza. As a matter of fact, Raffaele Esposito is usually associated with the invention of pizza. In 1889, he dedicated a pizza to Queen Margherita of Savoy, from which it took its name. In her honor, this new pizza wanted to embody the new Italian flag: basil for the green, mozzarella for the white and tomato for the red.

However, it is necessary to wait until the early 1900s to find pizza outside the Kingdom of Naples. The first pizzerias in the North of Italy opened only after the Second World War. With the first emigrations, pizza began to be also known abroad.

Pizza in North America

Pizza first appeared in the United States with the Italian immigration that spread in the late 19th century. Firstly in cities such as San Francisco, Chicago, New York, New Haven, and Philadelphia, pizza was initially sold on the streets of Italian neighborhoods. The vendor would have sold pizza by helding a bucket of pizzas on his head. This was the traditional way used in Naples: in copper cylinders with handles on the sides and a lid on top to keep the pizzas warm.

Similarly, in Canada, other variations of the Italian dish have spread. For example, the Hawaiian pizza, containing pineapple and ham (world-wide famous) or the Toronto pizza Margherita, with a medium thickness rim and topped with garlic and basil oil.

Etymology

According to some theories, the etymology of the name “pizza” derives from pinsa. It is the past participle of the Latin verb pinsere or the verb pansere, meaning “to crush”, “to press”. It would derive from the Mediterranean and Balkan pita, from the Greek “baked”; moreover, the word could also derive from the Hebrew or from the Arabic, which belongs to the same category of bread. The first use of the word “pizza” dates back to 997 in a Latin text from the city of Gaeta (Italy).

Now you know everything about the history of italian pizza!
Take a look at the article about the history of ice-cream!

References:

• History of pizza – Wikipedia
• Pizza Margherita – Wikipedia