Strictly speaking, people have been eating pizza for centuries. Flat and flavoured breads appear all over our culinary history from Greek pitta and Mediterranean focaccias to Indian naan bread and the Chinese 'bing'. But where does the pizza we know and love today really originate? Find out in our brief history of pizza...

It all began in Naples...

18th-century Naples was one of the largest cities in Europe. Fed by overseas trade and peasants migrating from the Italian countryside, the city's population grew from 200,000 in 1700 to 399,000 by 1748. With many of its inhabitants living in poverty, the city needed a food that was cheap and easy to eat. Rushing to meet demand, street vendors solved the problem with a simple flatbread topped with anything from simple garlic and salt, to cheese, tomato and basil.