The History of Pizza

Since the Neolithic Age-also known as the New Stone Age-there have been foods very similar to pizza. There is a flat bread called plakous in Ancient Greece. This bread was served with herbs, garlic, and onions as toppings. Also, Darius the Great, a Persian king, had soldiers who baked flat bread on their shields and covered it with cheese and dates.

How these flat bread dishes turned to pizza, was the use of tomato. In the 16th century, tomato was brought, from the Americas, to Europe where it was first believed to be poisonous. Sometime later, in the late 18th century, in Naples, it wasn't uncommon for the poor to have their yeast-based flat bread with tomato. Soon enough, the new dish attracted tourists to Naples.

Alexander Dumas writes in his work called Le Corricolo that, in winter, Naples pizza is topped with oil, tallow, lard, anchovies, cheese, or tomatoes.

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