Pizza Origins and the Best Places to Enjoy Italian Regional Styles

The history of pizza stretches back as far as ancient times. Flatbreads, similar to focaccia, topped with various ingredients were known to have been eaten by the ancient Greeks and Romans – a painting of Roman flatbread covered with various toppings was discovered at Pompeii, surely some of the earliest evidence of pizza origins. By late medieval times, these flatbreads with toppings were common in the Mediterranean diet, and by the 16th century they had begun to be referred to as pizza in and around Naples.

It’s from around this point that we can say the evolution of pizza in the Campania region of southern Italy truly began. In the 17th century, wheat flour flatbread was superseded by bread dough baked in wood-fired ovens, which was topped with cheese and seasoned with garlic, salt and olive oil. And when tomatoes arrived in Italy from the New World, they began to be used in sauces – seasoned and simmered with basil – eventually becoming another topping option.

The pizza that we know today began to appear in Naples during the 18th century, when the city was undergoing an influx of peasants from the surrounding countryside. The impoverished newly arrived residents needed cheap and easily available food to sustain them. Vendors known as pizzaiolos set up and sold pizza out of bakeries on the city’s street corners, sliced and priced to suit their customers’ budgets. The tasty and affordable pizzas soon became hugely popular with the working classes. Low prices for tomatoes, still viewed somewhat suspiciously by the masses, made them ideal for feeding hungry workers. But the juicy red vegetables were soon to receive a boost in popularity in the story of pizza origins with a royal seal of approval.

The wave of Italians who emigrated to the United States in the late 19th century took their culinary heritage and appetites with them. Italian Americans used to bake pizzas at home and in 1905 the first pizzeria in the US, Lombardi’s, opened in New York City. It remains open today and its initial success inspired others to open their own restaurants. In subsequent years as pizzerias opened in cities across the country, a number of different styles started to emerge contrasting with New York-style pizza which typically features dough made with sugar and olive oil, heavily seasoned tomato sauce and grated mozzarella cheese. Deep dish pizza, which originated in Chicago, is baked in a pie pan and has a high edge allowing for the addition of abundant cheese and chunky tomato sauce, while rectangular Detroit-style pizza is Sicilian influenced, with a spongy focaccia base, toppings pressed into the dough and a crispy crust.

As the popularity of pizza has swept around the globe, so the number of toppings they are prepared with has increased way beyond cheese and tomato – pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, bacon, black olives and green peppers are all popular choices, along with more outlandish (we think) options such as tuna and tandoori chicken. First made in Canada in the 1960s, with tomato, cheese, ham and pineapple, Hawaiian pizza features one of the more divisive combinations of toppings. For many, it’s their favourite pizza, whereas for others, it’s just plain wrong.

Pizza napolitana, including the classic made with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and basil, comes from the regional capital of Campania, Naples, a key destination in the story of pizza origins. The warm climate and fertile volcanic terrain ensure that the abundant local produce is of outstandingly high quality. Ripe tomatoes, olive oil and basil leaves seem to taste more delicious here, while Campanian mozzarella has an exceptionally creamy texture and taste. Baked quickly at very high temperature in wood-fired brick ovens, Neapolitan pizza has a thin base with a crunchy, puffy crust. The revered Da Michele is one of the best places to relish it. And many people do exactly that at marble-topped tables in the pizzeria’s relaxed dining rooms. Only margherita and marinara, topped with garlic, tomato, olive oil and oregano, are served – but both varieties are superb. Expect to queue for a table.

• Location: Via Cesare Sersale, 1, 80139 Naples, Italy
• Opening hours: Daily 10:30am-11pm

The central region of Lazio is home to the charismatic capital, Rome, a global city where all imaginable varieties of pizza are available. The regional style, pizza romana, is made with hand-stretched dough that is fermented for a long time resulting in thin and crispy pizza with very little crust. Savour some of the best in the light-filled contemporary space of 180Grammi Pizzeria Romana. Acclaimed for its king-sized, light and crunchy pies, carefully crafted true to the tradition of Roman pizza, here you can browse innovative menu options including pizza topped with courgette flowers and toasted almonds or vodka sauce and mixed peppers, before experiencing a genuine culinary delight.

• Location: Via Genazzano, 32, 00177 Rome, Italy
• Opening hours: Daily 7pm-12am

Regional pizza from Liguria comes in the form of a soft and light pie very similar to focaccia – its fluffiness maximised by the addition of milk to the dough and extended rising times. In the northwestern region’s capital, Genoa, reserve a table at Pizzeria La Funicolare to ensure you can savour delightfully tasty, golden-crusted focaccia generously topped with cheese, ham and cherry tomatoes in the restaurant’s traditional dining rooms. The welcoming staff are more than happy to talk you through the menu which also features the region’s savoury chickpea pancakes known as farinata, and a range of Neapolitan-style pizzas.

• Location: Corso Magenta, 29/R, 16125 Genoa, Italy
• Opening hours: Mon-Sat 6pm-11pm

On a narrow street in the heart of Lombardy’s cosmopolitan, fashion-obsessed capital, Milan, Panzerotti Luini is easy to find, as there is usually a line of customers snaking out of the door. The long-established bakery is the best place to try the city’s very own panzerotti – mini folded pizza pockets, like smaller versions of a calzone. Join the queue and very soon you’ll be tucking into a piping hot cheese and tomato turnover – our favourites are the hot salami and mozzarella or spinach and ricotta varieties – delicious!

• Location: Via Santa Radegonda, 16, 20121 Milan, Italy
• Opening hours: Daily 10am-8pm, Sun from 11am

The story of pizza origins dates from ancient days up to modern times. Meanwhile, today a huge range of regional styles and varieties are available to enjoy at pizzerias in Italy and around the globe.