Pizza is an Italian word that meant originally "cake, tart, pie". There may be a connection with Greek pitta (cake, pie). The word came in use in American English in 1930s.

The home of pizza is Naples. By the late 18th century the poor no longer considered tomato poisonous and it was added to their regular diet. The yeast-baseв bread with tomato soon gained popularity and became a tourist attraction.

The pizza now known as Margherita was first baked in 1889 by pizzaiolo (the technical term for a pizza chef) Raffaele Esposito for the visit of Umberto I, King of Italy, and his wife, Queen Margherita di Savoia. The pizza had the colors of the Italian flag (green basil leaves, white mozzarella, and red tomatoes).

Pizza was introduced to America by the Italians in the latter half of the 19th century.

The first pizzeria was opened in 1905 in New York by Italian immigrant Gennaro Lombardi. The price for an entire pizza was 5 cents.

Pizza won the hearts of Americans after World War II when soldiers stationed during war in Italy returned home and brought a taste for pizza with them.

Today more than 5 billion pizzas are sold worldwide every year, and there are about 61000 pizzerias in the United States, and more than 10,000 restaurants selling pizza in the UK. Pizza is the second most popular takeout food (first is chicken) in over 50 markets.