Pizza is surely one of the most famous foods in Italy.   It is often baked in a wood-fired oven.  The pizza in Italy is usually very thin but loaded with fresh vegetables or thinly sliced ham, salami, artichokes, and olives.
The pizza was invented in Naples, Italy around 1860. Calzone, a popular variety of pizza, is folded-up pizza.  Italian pasta is known throughout the world.  Pesto is a thick green sauce made from olives, herbs, olive oil, and parmiggiano cheese.  It is often served over pasta. Lasagna is a layered pasta dish with tomatoes, cheese, and meat filling.    There are more than 200 different shapes. 
Many of the Italian food dishes are made with fresh vegetables and seafood.  The sweet cakes (panettone), fruit cakes (panforte) and almond pastries (amaretti) are favorites. Gelato is a type of ice cream that is made with more whole milk than other ice creams found in other countries.  It is creamier and richer in flavor than regular ice cream.

Online Italian lessons for kids: dinolingo.com