[4] Historically, it also referred to an "open-faced sandwich or canapé" because of its crusted appearance,[1] or a chewet, a type of meat pie.

[5] The name derives from the Latin word crustāta, the feminine past participle of crustāre ('to encrust'), and ultimately from the noun crusta ('crust').

[9] Traditionally, crostata consisted of a base, usually three layers, of friable dough "flavoured with clarified fat and butter".

In his 1570 cookbook Opera dell'arte del cucinare, Bartolomeo Scappi included a recipe for a crostata of plums and sour cherries,[10] and others for quince and pears.

For meat and seafood based crostata, there were recipes using pork jowls or prosciutto,[15] crayfish, anchovies or oysters.