The History of Pizza

Where did it all begin?

Well…it is certain that the history of pizza did not begin in Italy as most people believe. However, there is much debate about the actual origin of Pizza. What is certain is that Pizza is not an American creation…although we eat more than 3 billion slices of pizza every year.

You know what pizza looks like, you know it tastes divine (when cooked right, of course), but do you know the history of pizza, who invented pizza and other interesting historical pizza facts? Well, brace yourself as you're in for a rare treat.

Origin of Pizza

The origin of pizza can likely trace its roots to the Stone Age, that’s right…bread is one of the oldest foods known to man and the earliest "pizza" was likely a result of these early people adding other ingredients to their bread, around 8500 BC.

To begin with, the pizza was very rudimentary. It was not even called pizza then. It was just plain and simple flat bread (what we now call the pizza crust). From this you can suppose that the history of pizza originated in ancient times, whenever people started baking dry, crusty bread. Of course, the ancient pizza was baked using stone ovens.

The toppings differentiate the pizza from plain bread. The real "ancestors'" of pizza (if such can be attributed to something inanimate) are rumored to be the Ancient Greeks' so-called "plakuntos." This looked like the modern-day pizza - it was flat or thin, it was round and it had toppings. Naturally, the pizza toppings then were quite basic. The pizza toppings of old were simple herbs. Similar foods were common in the Persian and Mediterranean region around 500 to 400 BC.

However, some historians attribute the history of the pizza to the Persian soldiers who used the flat bread as their food trenchers or plate. On the flat bread which they cooked using their shields, the Persians placed various foods (mainly cheese and dates). The bread was greatly absorbent so it made a wonderful trencher for moist or soggy dishes. Then again, archaeological studies revealed that the Roman legionnaires also dined on pizza.

If you know your history, however, it was probably the Greeks who started it all. The Persians and the Romans probably borrowed from the Greeks and spread the practice of using the flat bread as plates or of putting toppings on flat bread when they conquered the rest of the known world. But then again, I might be wrong and the Greeks, the Romans and the Persians may have discovered the practice of putting toppings on flat bread independently. It might even be a different civilization altogether who has done it first; they have just perhaps neglected to make a record of it, who knows?

Anyway, one thing is clear. The history of pizza evolved from these flat bread varieties but "pizza" technically came to be when tomato became one of the main toppings. At this point, pizza became standard peasant fare in Naples, Italy. Thus, the invention of pizza is generally attributed to the Italians. Thus, when one speaks of "authentic" pizza, he or she is probably referring to Neapolitan pizza.

We have included a separate page that lists various Pizza Facts…from the better known to the obscure. My son started collecting these for a school report, and he thought they would be a good idea for our website. We will add to them as we hear or read about new facts.

Articles

Who invented pizza? This article discuss the beginning of pizza in Naples, Italy.

Pizza facts, figures, and consumption statistics for pizza the world over.

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