| Ask any child these days the name of his or her | | | | the Italian culinary art' in 1000 AD was highlighted by |
| favorite food, the most common answer would be | | | | the incorporation of fresh fruits and vegetables in the |
| pizza! Across the globe, various ethnicities have | | | | diet. |
| embraced Italian cuisine with open arms. Historians | | | | The popularity of the most loved food of Italy, the |
| have been successful in tracing the inception of Italian | | | | pizza dates back to the civilization of ancient Rome, |
| food to the 8th century BC. | | | | ancient Egypt and Babylon. The term derived from the |
| The array of invigorating dishes encompassed by the | | | | Latin word 'pinsa' signifies flatbread. The earlier variant |
| Italian cuisine is believed to have been originally a | | | | of pizza was baked on a hot stone, seasoned with a |
| Greek invention. Although their regular diet consisted of | | | | variety of spices and herbs, and then relished with a |
| chickpeas, lupins, dry figs, pickled olives, salted fish, dry | | | | combination of vegetable or meat stew. It was in the |
| fish and pork; special occasions and festivities were | | | | times of the Middle Ages that pizza attained its latest |
| marked with delicacies of Magna Graecia including | | | | form. Toppings of various herbs and spices mixed with |
| sweetmeats prepared from almonds and walnuts, | | | | olive oil supplemented the taste of this Italian food. The |
| honey sauce, soups and meat in vinegar. The invasion | | | | final addition of the buffalo cheese, mozzarella came a |
| of the Italian territory by the barbarians in the 5th | | | | few years later. Soon, the popularity of pizza crossed |
| century AD resulted in certain transformations in the | | | | the boundaries of Italy and became a favorite of the |
| Italian food habits. The era designated as 'the revival of | | | | world over. |