Modern pizza evolved from similar flatbread dishes in Naples, Italy, between the 16th and mid-18th century. The word pizza was first documented in AD 997 in Gaeta and successively in different parts of Central and Southern Italy. Pizza was mainly eaten in Italy and by emigrants from there.

Pizza was first invented in Naples, Italy as a fast, affordable, tasty meal for working-class Neapolitans on the go. While we all know and love these slices of today, pizza actually didn’t gain mass appeal until the 1940s, when immigrating Italians brought their classic slices to the United States.

Pizza has a long history. Flatbreads with toppings were consumed by the ancient Egyptians, Romans and Greeks. (The latter ate a version with herbs and oil, similar to today’s focaccia.) But the modern birthplace of pizza is southwestern Italy's Campania region, home to the city of Naples.

The popularity of pizza in the United States began with the Italian community in New York City, where the Neapolitan pizza had an early influence. The first pizzeria appeared in New York City about the turn of the 20th century. After World War II the pizza industry boomed. Soon there was scarcely a hamlet without a pizzeria.