Pizza began when simple bread made from flour and water, cooked on large stones, was flavoured with olives, olive oil and herbs by the ancient Babylonians, Egyptians and Greeks.
The Ancient Greeks and the Recipe
The ancient Greeks are said to have brought the pizza recipe with them during their occupation of southern Italy. By the Middle Ages, the unleavened bread had a more practical function. In 500 BC, Armies of the Persian leader Darius the Great bake flatbread, topped with cheese and dates, on their shields during long marches.
Pizza, What's in a Name
Experts are divided as to the origin of the word 'pizza.' Some say it originated from the Latin "picea" and referred to the blackening of the crust in the fire. Some think it was derived from the Latin word for 'magpie' – pica – a bird with feathers of two colours.
Pizza in the 1500s to 1600s
During the 1500s, Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples, built a royal pizza oven so the peasant dish can be made for her and her guests. However, it wasn't until the sixteenth century, when tomatoes came to Europe that pizzas as we know them began to take shape. The exotic red fruit was initially thought to be poisonous, but by the 1600s public fear had subsided and the pizza-makers of Naples were using the ingredient in their kitchens.
Pizza in the 1800s
Two hundred years later, pizzas were well established as a popular peasant food in the 1800s. By this time, Naples was renowned as the Italian pizza capital. There, the world's first pizza delivery boys carried the tasty snacks on their heads in small tin stoves and sold slices flavoured with oil, oregano and tomatoes in the streets.
In 1889, during a stay in Naples, Queen Margherita Teresa Giovanna noticed the popularity of this street food. She tried and loved it but since it was unbecoming for royalty to be indulging in a working-class delight, she called on pizzaiolo Rafaele Esposito to bake her pizza in the palace.
Being a beloved monarch and Esposito, a patriotic subject, he created a special pizza for his queen. It was a work of art, lovingly strewn with basil, tomatoes and, for the first time ever, mozzarella cheese – his toppings represented the colours of the Italian flag. Pizza Margherita was born. The queen said, "That's amore."
Pizza in the 1900s until Today
In 1905, Italian immigrant Gennaro Lombardi opened America's first pizzeria in New York City, Lombardi's Pizzeria Napoletana.
Queen Margherita's craving is still echoed by the world today. Pizza, that's amore!
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