With the story of pizza, you discover that it is a mystery with no clear starting point. We cannot start with its etymology. The word “pizza” is derived from the Latin word picea, which means “to burn bread in an oven.” Pizzicare means pizza in Italian and means ‘pinch or tear off’. The origin of pizza begins when man invented fire.

The history of pizza can begin more than 20,000 years ago. Archaeologists discovered that cavemen combined crushed wheat germ with water and cooked this mixture on fiery stones. The first stone for pizza! Cavemen did not invent pizza as we know it. Who invented it? It remains a mystery, but here are some facts.

The history of pizza evolved in the Stone Age when flatbread began to take a shape similar to that of a pizza. The first settlers of modern Italy covered flatbread with various toppings. Flat pizza bread was the substitute for a plate or utensil for the poor. Some argue that this substitution originated with the Greeks as they used a round flat bread known as plankuntos that was baked with a variety of toppings and then used as a side dish.

The ancient Egyptians made contributions to the history of pizza making by developing the ‘rising dough’ technique and the first cone-shaped oven – the first pizza oven. They used this invention of the oven to prepare flatbread that was garnished with herbs to celebrate their pharaoh’s birthday. The ancient Egyptians invented the first pizza party!

The Persian Empire has a place in pizza history. Legend has it that the army of Darius the Great baked flatbread on metal shields and used cheese and dates as garnishes. This pizza-like food fed the armies that conquered the world at the time.

The Roman Empire played a role in recording the history of pizza. A Roman historian, Marcus Porcius Cato, also known as Cato the Elder, described the Roman pizza shape as a “flat round of dough seasoned with olive oil, herbs, and honey baked on stones.” Virgilio referred to this food in “The Aeneid” as “flour cakes or bread cakes that the Romans happily devoured.”

“Under a shady tree, the hero stretched out

His table on the lawn, with bread cakes;

And, with his bosses, he fed on fruits of the forest.

They satiate; and, (not without God’s order,)

Your homestyle meal dispatched, the hungry band

Invade their trenches below, and soon they will devour,

To repair the shortage of flour, its flour cakes.

Ascanio observed this, and smiling said:

“Look, we devoured the dishes we fed on.”

(Book VII, lines 141 – 49)

Roman Marcus Gavius ​​Apicius’s “De Re Codamientos” cookbook advanced the history of pizza making. Apicius described a pizzeria food as a bread base covered with ingredients such as chicken, cheese, garlic, pepper, oil and mint, among others. Excavations at the Pompeii site uncovered locations with equipment used to create this pizza-like street food. Are these signs of the first pizzeria? What we do know is that this pizzeria food had been a staple in Pompeii over 1900 years ago.

A close look at the history of pizza cannot conclusively answer who invented pizza. Even today, many Chinese believe that the origin of pizza begins with the Chinese green onion pancake or cong you bing. Those who study the history of pizza say that pizza could have evolved from China. In 1295, Marco Polo returned from China persuading a chef from Naples to recreate this stuffed pancake. Although difficult to recreate, Marco Polo advanced the history of pizza making when he suggested that the filling be placed on top and not on the inside. This technique was very successful and contributed to the history of pizza. Although the creation of flatbread with toppings resembles a green onion pancake, it remains a mystery whether the history of pizza begins with China.