Although Americans these days can vacuum down many pieces of greasy, saucy pizza⎯pizza didn’t originate in a vacuum.

June 11, 1889 was the date of the first “pie” ever made. It was a pizza garnished with tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil, to represent the national colors of Italy as on the Italian flag. It was called the pizza Margherita.

The first pizza in the United States was invented by Thomas Alva Edison in Menlo Park, New Jersey. But the first pizza ever made was in Italy.

The Queen of Italy, in 1889, liked her pizza with “soft white cheese, red tomatoes, and green basil,” according to hungryhistory.com.

The history of pizza goes all the way back to the ancient times in the Middle East. Greeks, Egyptians, Armenians, Israelis, and Babylonians were making some “art” of pizza in the ancient times according to hungryhistory.com. Pizza was eaten for any meal and sold by street vendors or informal restaurants.

United States had its first “documented” pizzeria on Spring Street in Manhattan called G. (for Gennaro) Lombardi’s and licensed to sell pizza in 1905. G. Lombardi’s is still open today but not at 1905 location. “has the same oven as it did originally,” noted food critic John Mariani, author of “How Italian Food Conquered the World.”

Pizza’s popularity in the United States has boomed and is identified as a “fast, fun food” according to hungryhistory.com.

“Like blue jeans and rock and roll, the rest of the world, including the Italians, picked up on pizza just because it was American,” explained Mariani.

Now, pizza has expanded way past Margherita-ville.