Pizza, a globally cherished dish, boasts a history as rich and layered as its toppings. While the concept of flatbreads with toppings dates back millennia, the pizza we recognize and love today has a more specific origin. To answer the question “When And Where Was Pizza Invented,” we need to journey to southwestern Italy, to the vibrant region of Campania and its bustling capital, Naples.
While precursors to pizza existed in various ancient cultures, including Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks who enjoyed flatbreads with oil and herbs, similar to focaccia, modern pizza’s story begins in Naples. This Italian city, established around 600 B.C. as a Greek settlement, flourished as a waterfront hub in the 1700s and early 1800s. Naples, then an independent kingdom, was characterized by a large population of working poor, known as lazzaroni.
These lazzaroni needed affordable, readily available food that could be eaten quickly as they went about their day. Pizza emerged as the perfect solution. These early pizzas were flatbreads topped with various ingredients, sold by street vendors and in informal eateries, catering to any meal of the day. Historical accounts from judgmental Italian writers even described the eating habits of these Neapolitans as “disgusting,” yet these early pizzas featured the very toppings we relish today: tomatoes, cheese, oil, anchovies, and garlic.
The unification of Italy in 1861 brought King Umberto I and Queen Margherita to Naples in 1889. Legend recounts that the royal couple, tired of elaborate French cuisine, requested a selection of pizzas from Pizzeria Brandi, the successor to Da Pietro pizzeria, which was established in 1760. Among the assortment, Queen Margherita favored a pizza topped with soft white cheese, red tomatoes, and green basil. This combination, mirroring the colors of the Italian flag, was named Pizza Margherita in her honor.
Despite the royal endorsement, pizza remained largely a local Neapolitan dish until the 1940s. However, across the Atlantic, Neapolitan immigrants in the United States were recreating their familiar pizzas in cities like New York, Trenton, New Haven, Boston, Chicago, and St. Louis. These immigrants, seeking work in factories during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, inadvertently introduced pizza to a new continent.
Gennaro Lombardi’s pizzeria in Manhattan, licensed in 1905, is recognized as one of the first documented pizzerias in the United States. Before this, pizza was primarily homemade or sold by unlicensed vendors. Lombardi’s, still operating today, albeit at a different location, boasts its original oven from 1905, a testament to its enduring legacy.
While debates about the best pizza continue, East Coast pizzerias like Totonno’s (Coney Island, Brooklyn, 1924), Mario’s (Arthur Avenue, the Bronx, 1919), and Pepe’s (New Haven, 1925) are celebrated for maintaining century-old pizza traditions.
As Italian Americans moved from urban centers to suburbs and westward, particularly after World War II, pizza’s popularity in the United States exploded. No longer considered an “ethnic” food, it became synonymous with fast, casual dining. Regional variations emerged, including California-style gourmet pizzas with diverse toppings.
Post-war, pizza made its way back to Italy and beyond. Its global appeal mirrored that of other American cultural exports like blue jeans and rock and roll. American pizza chains like Domino’s and Pizza Hut now thrive in approximately 60 countries, adapting toppings to local preferences, from Gouda cheese in Curaçao to hard-boiled eggs in Brazil.
In conclusion, while flatbreads with toppings existed in ancient times, modern pizza was invented in Naples, Italy, in the 1700s and early 1800s as a convenient and affordable food for the city’s working class. From its humble beginnings in Naples, pizza has evolved into a global phenomenon, enjoyed in countless variations worldwide, a testament to its enduring appeal and adaptability.
