Modern pizza evolved from similar flatbread dishes in Naples, Italy, in the 18th or early 19th century. The word pizza was first documented in A.D. 997 in Gaeta and successively in different parts of Central and Southern Italy. Pizza was mainly eaten in Italy and by emigrants from there.

The food was invented in Naples about 200 years ago. It is the name for a special type of flatbread, made with special dough. The pizza enjoyed a second birth as it was taken to the United States in the later 19th century. Flatbreads like the focaccia from Liguria have been known for a very long time.

The history of pizza begins when different ancient cultures produced flatbread with toppings. Toppings are food added to pizza, like pepperoni, cheese or sausage. Foods similar to pizza have been made since the Neolithic Age. The food that came before pizza was probably focaccia (a flatbread to which toppings were added).