In what year was the Pizza Margherita named?

Pizza Margherita was named in 1889, according to the famous account connecting it with Queen Margherita of Savoy. The story says Neapolitan pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito prepared pizzas for the visiting queen and named one in her honor.

The celebrated pizza used tomato, mozzarella, and basil, ingredients whose red, white, and green colors were said to represent the Italian flag. The supposed royal connection helped turn the combination into a lasting national symbol, although historians have debated how much of the traditional story can be documented independently.

The episode is commonly associated with Pizzeria Brandi in Naples, formerly known as Pizzeria di Pietro. A letter praising Esposito’s pizzas is displayed there, but the broader history of tomato-and-cheese pizza predates 1889. The year therefore refers to the naming story and its royal association, not to the invention of pizza itself.