In the 3 rd century, BC, the First history of Rome, written by Cato the Elder, mentions a “flat round of dough dressed with olive oil, herbs and honey baked on stone, “Placenta was a “sheet of fine flour filled with cheese and honey and flavored with bay leaves”. Further evidence is found in Pompeii, the city “frozen in time” since AD79, where archaeologists have excavated shops that closely resemble modern pizzerias though several kinds of flat bread made with flour, often cooked with oil and spices, were familiar to ancient Romans and popular in all the Mediterranean area,, they were considerably different from pizza as it is known today. The tomato was still unknown in Europe and the Indian water buffalo, whose milk is used to make the real mozzarella cheese, had not yet been imported to Campania, the area around Napoli. The crust of pizza is very similar to focaccia bread common in Italian cuisine today. For some time after the tomato was brought to Europe from the Americas in the 16 th century, it was believed by many Europeans to be poisonous (as there are some other fruits of the nightshade family).
By the late 18 th century, however, it was common for the poor of the area around Naples to add tomato to their yeast-based flat bread and the dish gained in popularity. Pizza became a tourist attraction, and visitors to Naples ventured in to the poorer areas of the city to try the local specialty.
Until about 1830, pizza was sold from open-air stands and street vendors out of pizza bakeries. The world’s first true pizzeria, “Antica Pizzeria Port”Alba, opened in Naples in that period. A description of pizza in Naples around 1830 is given by the French Writer and Food Expert’ Alexendre Dumasin his work” Le Corricolo’ Chapter VIII. He writes that pizza was the only food of the humble people in Naples during winter, and that “in Naples pizza is flavored with oil, lard, tallow, cheese, tomato or anchovies’.
In 1889 when Rafaele Esposito, the most famous pizzaiolo of Naples, was summoned before King Umberto I and Queen Margherita of Savoy to prepare the local specialty. It is said that he made two traditional ones and additionally created one in the colors of the Italian flag with red tomato sauce, white mozzarella cheese, and green basil leaves. The Queen was delighted and "pizza Margherita" was born.
The international breakthrough came after World War II. Although the birthplace of modern day pizza is Naples, local bakers were at a loss to satisfy the demand from American soldiers. While the American troops involved in the Italian campaign took their appreciation for the dish back home, the millions of Italians called to help rebuild the damaged economy introduced their cuisine to the rest of Europe.
With the rising popularity in the 1950s, especially in the US, pizza became a component of the growing chain-restaurant industry. Some leading early pizza chains were Shakey's Pizza (which invented the term pizza parlor; formerly, the term pizzeria was preferred) and Pizza Hut (now owned by Yum! Brands, Inc.), both founded in 1954
But only pizzas which followed the traditional guidelines could be called "traditional Italian pizzas" and not any pizza available in Indian market.
