From the Latin word picea, “blackening of bread,” pizza may have first been prepared in pre-Renaissance Naples, where peasants took flour, olive oil, lard, cheese, and herbs, then baked a seasoned flatbread garnished with cheese.

“Farsi una pizza assieme,” says the fine old Italian phrase. “Let’s have ourselves a pizza,” and celebrate friendship and togetherness.

One of the world’s first pizzerias, Port’Alba of Naples, opened in 1830 and still serves pizza today. Made with flavorful, high-gluten “0” flour, authentic Neapolitan pizza bakes in wood-fired brick ovens, which give the dough its unique aroma and taste.

Pizza toppings may be as varied as the regions of Italy, but the key to making excellent pizza is to use only the highest-quality ingredients. “Freshness elevates the seemingly banal to the superb,” observed chef and writer Mario Batali.

Ingredients matter.

“To an Italian there is even something sacred about bread,” explained international cooking authority Lorenza de’ Medici. “It is a symbol of the gift of life itself and that which sustains it.”

For cooking authority Lidia Bastianich, the olive oil used in pizza is special. “To me the olive tree signifies life and eternity and is imbued with a sense of spirituality.”

Try your own pizza dough recipe and create something simple and beautiful to share.