50+ History Of Pizza In America Background. But it was in america that pizza found its second home. The actual word pizza was first documented in 997 ad in gaeta, italy, and while pizza has been eaten in italy for centuries, it was not until after world war ii and when pizza became popular in america, that it became really.

It was introduced first in large cities where it was sold on the streets in predominately italian neighborhoods.

By the end of the 19th century, italian emigrants had already reached the east coast. Pizza with tomatoes © jeffreyw/wikicommons. Originally, pizza basically meant some kind of a pie, or crust with something on it, which could be as simple as salt. But the story of how the humble pizza came to enjoy such global dominance reveals much about the history of migration, economics and technological change.