Back in 1889, after the Unification of Italy, King Umberto I and Queen Margherita of Savoy decided to make a visit to Naples, the former capital of the Kingdom of the South. It was a tradition for sovereigns who wanted to ingratiate themselves with their southern subjects.

According to popular tradition the Queen, while staying in Naples’ Capodimonte Palace got sick of the usual French food, that was the royal standard across Europe at the time. Intrigued by what she heard about pizza, maybe from some artists or writers admitted at court, she summoned the most famous pizza-maker in Naples, Don Raffaele Esposito.

Mr. Raffaele Esposito and his wife Mrs. Rosa baked three pizzas in the palace kitchen: one with garlic, olive oil and tomato, one with “sugna” (flare flat), cheese and basil and one resembling the colours of the Italian flag, tomato (red), mozzarella (white) and basil (green). The Queen did not like the first two but she loved the one with tomato, mozzarella and basil.

Mr. Esposito immediately named it after the Queen, Pizza Margherita, and added it to the menu of its pizzeria with great success. Legend has it that ever since then, when the Queen went back to Naples, she invited Mr. Esposito to have her favourite, and namesake, pizza.

A name of a Queen for the Queen of pizzas. Because of all its infinite variety, Margherita pizza is still the best, the most famous and the most loved pizza ever.
Isn’t it?