The History of Pizza

Pizza: everyone’s favourite food. This simple meal has become a staple in western culture, but turns out it has actually been this way for quite a while. Pizza-like meals have been around for thousands of years, with records of the Egyptians and Romans serving flatbreads with toppings to those travelling or those who did not have the money for plates. However, our idea of the modern pizza originated in Naples in the 18th century, when the city was going through a population boom. Those who became poor due to the struggling economy were always on the go, looking for jobs. Because of that, they needed food that was quick and easy to eat as well as move around with. They were cheap and came in varying sizes, allowing the poor to either eat breakfast or buy dinner for the whole family. They were highly criticized by the rich and foreign, who saw them as a disgusting poor-people food. Despite of that, they continued to be popular with those who were poor, and even developed enough that the first pizzeria was opened in the 19th century. When the Queen of France came to visit Naples, she was serves three pizzas by request. She ended up loving one so much that it was named after her: Pizza Margarita, which shifted the outlook on the dish entirely. Pizza was no longer a poor-person food and became a Italian staple. With the migration of Italians from Naples to different parts of the world, pizza started gaining popularity in other countries. Slowly, pizza started showing up on menus of Italian restaurants in many western countries, and eventually restaurants dedicated only to pizza started opening up too. Since then, countless variations have been developed in many countries, and pizza has become a staple fast food item.