A slice of history

The Story of Pizza

From humble ancient flatbreads to the wood-fired icon of Naples, pizza has travelled the world for two thousand years. Trace its journey — then pick up one of the finest books to master it at home.

Explore the books

How Pizza Came to Be

Pizza wasn't invented in a single moment — it grew out of centuries of bread-baking, trade and tradition across the Mediterranean.

Antiquity

Ancient Flatbreads

Long before tomatoes reached Europe, peoples of the Mediterranean baked flat, round breads on hot stones and dressed them with oil, herbs and cheese — the earliest ancestors of pizza.

16th c.

The Tomato Arrives

Tomatoes brought back from the Americas were at first feared as poisonous. By the 1700s the poor of Naples were adding them to their flatbreads, creating the dish we'd recognise today.

1889

The Margherita

Legend holds that pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito honoured Queen Margherita with a pizza of tomato, mozzarella and basil — red, white and green for the Italian flag. The Margherita was born.

20th c.

A Global Icon

Italian emigrants carried pizza to the Americas, where New York, Chicago and Detroit each forged their own styles. Today pizza is baked, loved and reinvented in nearly every country on earth.

Four Books to Master Pizza

Whether you crave authentic Neapolitan technique, backyard-oven adventures or American classics, these are our hand-picked reads. Click any cover for the full story.

Affiliate disclosure: Pizza Origins does not sell any products. The links on this site point to Amazon, and as an Amazon Associate we may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases — at no extra cost to you. This helps keep the site running.