A Brief History of Pizza By Allen Adams edge staff writer aadams@themaineedge.com We all have our preferences when it comes to food, but there are precious few among us who can honestly say that we don’t like pizza. It’s pizza. Everybody likes pizza, or at the very least doesn’t actively dislike pizza. But where does this American diet staple come from? What are the origins of this delicious combination of dough, sauce, cheese and assorted toppings? Here’s a basic primer on the history of pizza, in honor of National Pizza Month. While many of the specifics of the origins of pizza are forever lost to us, there are a few things that we do know. For instance, the Roman poet Virgil included a pizza recipe among his writings. Pizza is older than Jesus! Who knew? However, the word “pizza” didn’t actually enter the vernacular until a thousand years later. Most people assume that pizza is Italian in origin. That assumption is not entirely accurate. While the modern pizza as we know it traces its beginnings to Italy, the idea of a flat bread coated in flavor before baking goes all the way back to the ancient Greek and Roman cultures, although these foods were primarily vegetable based. It was the Italians who brought sophistication to the table, adding meats, olives and even creating “desserts” by using toppings like pine nuts, honey and raisins. In fact, some of these early dessert pizzas are part of Italian culinary culture to this day. But recipes like this were still pretty far from the pizza of today. For instance, tomatoes, an integral part of the modern pizza, weren’t even introduced to the European palate until the Spanish brought them back from the New World in the 16th century. The pizza we know and love, with crust, sauce and delicious toppings, didn’t really come onto the scene until some 200 years later, in Naples. It was around 1830 that the first pizza restaurant opened. Before then, pizza was primarily sold from market stalls. The new restaurant was called Port Alba, and its oven was fired by volcanic rock from Mount Vesuvius. Seriously, how awesome is that? The modern pizza era began in earnest in 1889. Queen Margherita, consort of King Umberto I, visited Naples. A special pizza was commissioned for her visit, and the result was the forerunner of the pies we eat today. The “pizza Margherita” featured tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. Sounds deliciously familiar, doesn’t it? It was just a few years later that pizza came to America, brought here by Italian immigrants. In 1905, a man named Gennaro Lombardi opened America’s first pizzeria in New York City, called Lombardi’s Pizzeria Napoletana. It wasn’t very successful; pizza wouldn’t make real culinary and cultural inroads in this country until after World War II. Soldiers stationed in Italy developed a taste for the dish, and upon their return they sought it out. The rest, as they say, is history. So there you have it: a few tasty tidbits of trivia in celebration of one of the greatest dining delights in culinary history. Happy National Pizza Month!