History of pizza
The history of pizza begins in antiquity, as various ancient cultures produced basic flatbreads with several toppings. A precursor of pizza was probably the focaccia, a flatbread known to the Romans as , to which toppings were then added. Modern pizza evolved from similar flatbread dishes in Naples, Italy, in the 18th or early 19th 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. This changed after World War II when Allied troops stationed in Italy came to enjoy pizza along with other Italian foods. Origins Foods similar to pizza have been made since antiquity. Records of people adding other ingredients to bread to make it more flavorful can be found throughout ancient history. In the 6th century BC, Persian soldiers serving under Darius the Great baked flatbreads with cheese and dates on top of their battle shields. In Ancient Greece, citizens made a flatbread called plakous (πλακοῦς, gen. πλακοῦντοςplakountos) which was flavored with toppings like herbs, onion, cheese and garlic. An early reference to a pizza-like food occurs in the Aeneid (c. 19 BC), when