Celebrate National Pizza Day, By Seeing The Birthplace Of Pizza In Italy

By Nathan Young on February 9, 2015

Well, today is National Pizza Day! And while other websites will tell you where to find the best pizza, or show you how to make the perfect pizza pie, I thought I would include a few videos of the birthplace of pizza, Naples in Italy! But first, I thought this video from ABC News showing off some of the best pizza spots in New York City was good!

Now, Italy is the birthplace of pizza. The word “pizza” was first documented in 997 AD in Gaeta, Italy, and successively in different parts of Central and South Italy. The modern pizza came to us in the 16th century in Naples. A Galette flatbread was referred to as a pizza. Known as the dish for poor people, it was sold in the street and was not considered a kitchen recipe for a long time. In 1843, Alexandre Dumas, père, described the diversity of pizza toppings. An often recounted story holds that on 11 June 1889, to honor the Queen consort of Italy, Margherita of Savoy, the Neapolitan pizzamaker Raffaele Esposito created the “Pizza Margherita”, a pizza garnished with tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil, to represent the national colors of Italy as on the Italian flag.

So today, if you want to find some of the first pizza ever created, you have to go to Naples, Italy! If you don’t want to spend thousands of dollars flying to Italy, I have several videos showing you how pizza is made in Naples. And it’s not the kind most people know pizza today, drenched in cheese and toppings. Pizza in Naples is mostly sauce with some cheese and toppings. The first video from Rick Steves Europe takes you inside Pizzeria da Michele in Naples.

This video from Erin Ireland also takes you inside Pizzeria da Michele in Naples.

This video from KK Fung also features Pizzeria da Michele.

And this video from gourmandchic also features Pizzeria da Michele.

This video from indiavideo shows you the making of an authentic Neapolitan pizza!

This video from Latanadellarte shows you pizza being made at LatanaDellarte Pizzeria in Naples.

And this video from World Press Media shows you the world’s most original pizza restaurant in Naples.

And yes, you can get your pizza from a vending machine in Italy. The vending machine is called Let’s Pizza, and I guess the Italians love their pizza!