Pizza feels timeless, but the version we recognise today has a very particular story.
Flatbreads have existed across many cultures for thousands of years, but modern pizza developed in Naples, where inexpensive flatbreads topped with simple ingredients became part of everyday street food.
By the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Naples had become closely associated with the kind of pizza we now recognise: a round base topped with ingredients such as tomato, cheese, oil and herbs.
It was practical food, made quickly, eaten simply and built around ingredients that were available and affordable.
One of the best-known pizza stories is linked to Queen Margherita of Savoy and a pizza topped with tomato, mozzarella and basil — the colours of the Italian flag.
The story is part of pizza folklore, but what matters most is what that combination represents: simplicity, balance and ingredients that each have a clear purpose.
As Italians moved around the world, pizza travelled with them. Every country adapted it in different ways, but the idea remained wonderfully simple: dough, heat and toppings brought together at the right moment.
That simplicity still shapes the way we think about pizza today.
At Pizza Picchio, we make our dough with lievito madre and give it 72 hours before service. We keep our combinations focused and cook fresh onsite so guests experience the pizza as it is made.
It is our little way of bringing part of the Italian tradition to weddings, corporate events, film productions and private celebrations across Sydney.
Explore our current pizza catering menu, or read more about the Pizza Picchio story.
Buon appetito e alla prossima.
