Pizza: A Delicious History

Pizza. The word itself evokes feelings of comfort, happiness, and satisfaction. No matter the context in which it is consumed- a quick slice on the go, a consolation pizza after a disappointing Ohio State loss, etc.- pizza possesses the uncanny ability to fill any void, be it voracious hunger or crippling sadness. It seems that a food so perfect, so intrinsically good, would have been around since the dawn of man. Pizza as we know it, however, has a surprisingly brief history.

The word "pizza" has been around for quite some time, having appeared in writing for the first time in 997 AD. The Latin text in question proclaimed that one of the citizens of Gaeta was to present the bishop of the southern Italian town with twelve pizzas each Christmas and Easter Sunday (Priestley, 2010). If you ask me, the bishop of Gaeta's gig sounds pretty awesome, even if the "pizzas" he received bore little resemblance to the modern-day dish. The duodecim pizza ("twelve pizzas") likely resembled one of several flatbreads that existed across the Mediterranean, many of which are still around today.

Naples, Italy: The Birthplace of Pizza.

Plakous was a flatbread consumed by the ancient Greeks, flavored with herbs, onion, and garlic ("The History of Neapolitan Pizza"). The ancient Etruscans are said to have invented focaccia bread, while coca was and is a popular pizza-esque dish in Catalonia, Valencia, and the Balearic Islands. During the 16th century, the Galette flatbread- a dish popular among Naples's poorer inhabitants- began to be referred to as pizza (Baxter, 2013). Another great development of the 16th century, the tomato was introduced into the European diet amidst the conquest of the Americas. Within generations, it became common for the natives of Naples to add tomato to their yeast-based flatbreads- paving the way for the creation of humankind's greatest culinary achievement.

Pizza Margherita.

Raffaele Esposito is credited as the inventor of modern pizza, having created the dish in 1889 at Pizzeria di Pietro in Campania, Italy (Bellis, 2014). Esposito crafted his pizzas specially for the visiting King and Queen of Italy, Umberto I and Margherita. The Queen's favored pie was one that matched the colors of the Italian flag, topped with basil leaves (green), mozzarella (white), and tomatoes (red). Thus, the "Pizza Margherita" was named in her honor.

Pizza made its first appearance in the United States as Italian immigrants arrived in cities such as New York,  Chicago, Philadelphia, and St. Louis at the end of the 19th Century. In 1897, Gennaro Lombardi opened a grocery store in New York that would become America's first pizzeria when it received its mercantile license in 1905 ("Lombardi's Pizza"). Though pizza consumption was mostly limited to Italian immigrants in America, after World War II American troops who had been stationed in Italy brought their affinity for the dish back home with them.

Pizzeria Uno in Chicago, IL.

In 1943, Ike Sewell and Ric Riccardo invented deep-dish pizza, opening Pizzeria Uno on the corner of Wabash and Ohio in downtown Chicago (Vettel, 2013). In addition to Chicago, other American cities such as New Haven, Detroit, and Youngstown (yes, that Youngstown) created their own adaptations of the dish. With pizza's rapidly rising popularity, chain restaurants began to spring up around the nation (Pizza Hut, for example, was established in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas- thus, beginning its quest to create the most mediocre pizza possible).

Today, national chains with a focus on delivery such as Papa John's, Donatos, and Domino's have a stronghold on the pizza market. However, pizza enthusiasts continue to flock to their local joints (Columbusites: I highly recommend Catfish Biff's and Adriatico's) in search of the perfect pie- a lifelong quest that I, and many others, enjoy to the fullest. Pizza- oh, glorious product of Napoli- we salute you.

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Baxter, Meaghan. "Where It All Began." Vue Weekly. Aberdeen Publishing, 21 Feb. 2013. Web. 05 Jan. 2014. <http://www.vueweekly.com/where_it_all_began/>.

Bellis, Mary. "The History of Pizza Pie." Inventors. About.com, n.d. Web. 04 Jan. 2014. <http://inventors.about.com/od/foodrelatedinventions/a/pizza.htm>.

Priestley, Rachel. "That's Amore!" TheFlorentine.net. The Florentine, 23 Sept. 2010. Web. 03 Jan. 2014 <http://www.theflorentine.net/articles/article-view.asp?issuetocId=6101>.

"The History of Neapolitan Pizza." Famoso. Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria, n.d. Web. 02 Jan. 2014. <http://www.famoso.ca/history.php>.