The history of pizza begins in antiquity, when various ancient cultures produced flatbreads with toppings.

The word pizza was first documented in AD 997 in Gaeta and successively in different parts of Central and Southern Italy. The precursor of pizza was probably the focaccia, a flat bread known to the Romans as panis focacius, to which toppings were then added.

Modern pizza developed in Naples, when tomato was added to the focaccia in the late 18th century. However, pizza was mainly eaten in the country of Italy and by immigrants from there. This changed after World War II, when Allied troops stationed in Italy came to enjoy pizza along with other Italian foods.