piled high with glorious toppings.

And we all know where it came from, don't we?

Right here.

No, no, maybe it was here.

Hold on, wait, wait, wait.

Was it here?

You know what, does anyone even know?

Let's find out in The Secret History of Pizza.

Like a good slice,

the origin of pizza itself

is thick with the cheese of mystery,

rich with the sauce of debate.

There were many pizza precursors

throughout the Mediterranean.

The ancient Greeks enjoyed various flatbreads

going back thousands of years.

Focaccia is one of the most direct ancestors of pizza,

a tasty flatbread the Romans called panis focacius.

The word pizza, meaning pie,

would only start to appear around 1000 AD,

but the dish would still be missing

most of the things you might expect,

like, you know, sauce, pepperoni, cheese,

basically the whole pizza.

Centuries later, pizza,

still just flatbread with oil and toppings,

is largely considered a food for the poor,

until this guy comes in, Raffaele Esposito.

This pizza maker was charged with making a special pizza

for Queen Margherita, and yes, attentive listeners,

that name might ring a few bells.

Because in an effort to make a pizza

worthy of his royal guests,

Esposito crafted something experimental and patriotic,

a pizza emblazoned with the colors of the Italian flag.

He did that by flavoring with basil,

mozzarella, and tomato,

thus creating what we would later call

the margherita pizza.

And because of this moment,

Esposito is credited by many

as being the father of all modern pizza.

Later that century,

Italians started emigrating to the United States,

and they brought pizza with them

as a little slice of home.

It wasn't long at all before American pizza

developed its own distinct flavor.

So whether you like yours deep dish,

wood fired, stuffed crust,

or with artisinally crafted heirloom tomato sauce,

no matter which way you slice it,

this pie is here to stay.

Just keep the anchovies off my half, huh?