Who Invented Pizza?

Pizza’s word brings water in the mouth as the senses are overtaken by the aroma of its bread, cheese and sauces. There are many people, especially kids, who dislike veggies, but in the form of pizza, they agree to eat even those. Pizza comes in both ways, vegetarian and non-vegetarian. In fact, it comes with just cheese as well.

Numerous people say that pizza is an Italian dish, which is right. But is it okay to give all the credit to Italians? Well, no, as different countries have their own way of preparing it and defining it.

Many people think that pizza is just a flatbread cooked in an oven which is not right. As the concept of eating flat baked bread is ancient, in ancient times, Egyptians, Romans, Greeks and Israelites used to eat baked bread in mud ovens. This new concept of pizza with cheese, toppings and sauces started in Italy. (See What are the diameters of Domino’s large, medium, and regular-sized pizzas?)

The pizza was likely born in Naples, Italy, decades ago. You would be amazed to know that this dish was made for poor people, and it was sold on the street with various ranges of toppings. Later, in 1738 the first Italian pizza restaurant was opened; they gained popularity, particularly from the tourists who came to Naples.

After this restaurant, in 1889, pizza maker Raffaele Esposito made the Pizza Margherita for the Queen consort of Italy. He is the one who started topping the pizza with tomatoes, cheese and basil.

Once it became famous in Italy after that, some immigrants from Italy brought this dish to the U.S, Spain, England and France. This would not gain much fame until World War II was over as the soldiers who returned wanted to eat the food they ate while fighting overseas.

It gained so much popularity that restaurants were opening globally. The first restaurant in the U.S opened in 1905 in New York City on Spring Street. The restaurant was named G.Lombardi’s, and it is still open in some other location. After that, there was no stopping; there were various pizza restaurants opened all over the world. (See What Does Dominos Logo Mean?)