Italy Invented Pizza, But There Was A Huge Influence Behind The Idea

While pizza is now synonymous with Italian cuisine, historians have traced its roots to ancient Greece, where the idea of flatbreads topped with various ingredients began to take shape. As far back as 600 B.C., the Greeks made plakous, a flatbread topped with simple ingredients like olive oil, herbs, and cheese, similar to focaccia, a flatbread that remains popular in Italy.

Much like we do today, the Greeks baked these flatbreads on hot stones, creating a crispy, flavorful base. The early Greek flatbread wasn't quite the pizza we recognize today, but it was a precursor to modern pizza. Greek cuisine has long been known for its use of olive oil, fresh herbs, and cheese — ingredients that would become staples in the pizza toppings of the future. These early plakous made a quick and convenient meal, often served to soldiers, travelers, and workers. The Greeks created a portable, customizable, affordable flatbread — a perfect dish for a busy, mobile society.

Fast forward a few centuries, and we see these Greek flatbreads making their way to the Italian peninsula, particularly Naples in Southern Italy. Naples, founded by the Greeks, carried many aspects of Greek culture into its development, including their flatbread traditions. By the time Naples grew into a thriving port city in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Greek influence on the local cuisine was already evident. Early forms of pizza, still simple flatbreads topped with ingredients like garlic, cheese, and herbs, became staples of the Neapolitan diet. Street vendors sold these early pizzas as inexpensive meals for the working class.

While pizza's modern form, with its rich tomato sauce and mozzarella, would emerge much later, the Greek-inspired flatbreads remained a central part of the meal's foundation. The Greeks had set the stage for what would eventually become the pizza we recognize today.

It was in the 19th century that pizza truly began to evolve into the dish we know and love. The commonly accepted Margherita pizza story (although not verifiable) is that in 1889, Queen Margherita of Savoy visited Naples and was presented with a pizza topped with mozzarella, tomatoes, and fresh basil. The colors matched those of the Italian flag, and she loved it. Hence, the Margherita pizza was born. This moment is often credited with giving the pizza its modern identity. However, by this time, the essential ideas of the dish had already been shaped by centuries of Greek influence.

Because the dish is indisputably associated with Italy today, we often overlook its Greek origins. However, the Greeks' contributions to flatbread-based dishes with toppings undeniably impacted pizza's development. The simplicity, portability, and versatility of their early flatbreads laid the foundation for the variety of pizzas that would follow, from the classic Margherita to modern, creative variations found all over the globe. While the modern pizza may be Italian in its final form, we should give some credit to the Greeks who, with their flatbreads, inspired the birth of one of the most popular dishes in the world.