Today, February 9th, is National Pizza Day in the United States, while World Pizza Day is celebrated on January 17th. To properly honor this Italian culinary masterpiece, here are some fascinating facts that you may not know. Pizza has incredibly ancient origins. Some believe that even the Etruscans consumed a version of it in large quantities.

The name “pizza” is thought to derive from pinsa, the past participle of the Latin verb pinsare, meaning to press or flatten, referring to its shape. The first recorded mention of the word "pizza" dates back to before the year 1000 as pizza de pane, a type of flatbread served with meat, fish, or vegetables, referenced by several 16th-century authors.