The tomato was first introduced in Italy during the mid-sixteenth century after being discovered in the New World by Spanish explorers. Believing them to be poisonous, Neapolitans initially grew the tomato plants in their gardens solely for ornamental value. Once they tasted the delicious fruit, however, the long Italian love affair with the tomato began and tomato-based varieties of pizza sprung up throughout Naples and other Italian cities.
In 1889, as a tribute to his beloved queen, Raffael Esposito created a pizza displaying the colors of the Italian flag … red, white and green. The ingredients he used were tomatoes for the red color, mozzarella for white and basil for green. The queen was completely delighted with the new dish. Her name? Margharita, of course…
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