Pizza (Italian: Neapolitan: ) is a savory Italian dish made up of a round, flattened base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often other ingredients (such as anchovies, mushrooms, onions, olives, pineapple, meat, and so on) and baked at a high temperature, traditionally in a wood-fired oven. Pizzetta is a term used to describe a tiny pizza. A pizzaiolo is a person who creates pizza.

Pizza served in a formal environment, such as a restaurant, is served unsliced and is eaten with a knife and fork in Italy. It is, however, sliced into wedges and eaten while held in hand in casual circumstances.

The name pizza was first documented in a Latin book from the southern Italian town of Gaeta, on the border with Campania, in the 10th century. The modern pizza was created in Naples, and the meal and its variations have since gained popularity in a number of nations. It has become one of the most popular dishes in the world, as well as a popular fast food item in Europe and North America, where it can be found at pizzerias (pizza restaurants), Mediterranean restaurants, and via pizza delivery. Many firms sell frozen pizzas that can be reheated in a regular home oven.

The Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (lit. True Neapolitan Pizza Association) is a non-profit organization based in Naples that promotes authentic Neapolitan pizza. It was formed in 1984. Neapolitan pizza was registered as a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed dish with the European Union in 2009, at Italy’s request, and the art of creating it was added to UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage in 2017.

Pizza-like foods have been around since the Neolithic period. People have been known to add various things to bread to make it more delicious throughout history. The Persian warriors of the Achaemenid Empire cooked flatbreads with cheese and dates on top of their battle shields in the 6th century BC, while the ancient Greeks enriched their bread with oils, herbs, and cheese under the reign of Darius the Great. The Aeneid contains an early allusion to a pizza-like meal, when Celaeno, queen of the Harpies, predicts that the Trojans would not find peace until they are compelled to devour their tables by hunger (Book III). Aeneas and his troops are served a supper in Book VII that consists of circular cakes (similar to pita bread) covered with sautéed veggies. They understand these are the “tables” foretold by Celaeno when they consume the bread.

Similar flatbread meals in Naples, Italy, in the 18th or early 19th century, evolved into modern pizza. The flatbread was frequently covered with seasonings such as garlic, salt, fat, and cheese prior to that period. It’s unclear when tomatoes were initially introduced, and there are a lot of contradictory accounts. Pizza was offered from open-air stands and pizza shops until around 1830.

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