The Best Pizza Near Cielo, by the Record
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A Neapolitan-style pizzeria in San Vito dei Normanni that takes its cues from the alleys of Naples: cartwheel-format pies, wide and thin in the center, with a soft, properly leavened crust that doesn't overplay its hand. The room is simple, with a snug outdoor terrace, and the pasta frittatas make a strong case for arriving hungry before the pizza even lands. Fried and folded options round things out, and the babà is a tidy way to finish.
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A family-run pizzeria tucked into the historic center of Martina Franca, where the dough is Neapolitan but the toppings take a creative turn, anchovies with mint and powdered licorice being the kind of combination that sounds like a dare until it lands. The room is small and cozy, the service attentive without hovering. A solid wine and beer list, plus cocktails if the mood calls for it.
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Rank 3. Luppolo&Farina
Neapolitan Pizza
A pizzeria in the Puglia heel of Italy that can't quite decide between Neapolitan and thin-crust, so it simply does both. You pick your style at the order, and the kitchen pairs every pizza on the menu with two or more beers. Seasonal ingredients lean hard into southern Italian producers. Ranked 63rd on 50 Top Pizza Italy, and the locals who fill it seem to know exactly what they're ordering before they sit down.
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Rank 4. Il Tronco
Apulian Pizza
A family-run pizzeria outside Bari that has been turning out Apulian pizza for decades, the rolled-pin style that sits somewhere between Roman and something the region has claimed entirely as its own. The Lococciolo family's latest chapter involves sourcing with genuine care, from Martina Franca capocollo to Andria stracciatella, and a quiet obsession with allergen-free ingredients that most places don't bother with.
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Rank 6. Romano – Artigiani del Gusto
Modern Pizza
A deli and bakery that grew a gazebo and became a pizzeria, which is an origin story that explains the room. Sit-down pizza spot on the outskirts of Brindisi, leaning modern rather than Neapolitan classic, with a menu that wanders into broader Italian territory. The wine and beer lists are taken seriously. Charcuterie shows up, though nothing too artisanal. Staff are easygoing, the vibe is low-key, and the cash register has been known to have its own ideas.
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Rank 7. Brunda Pizzeria
Pizza
A pizzeria on Piazza Dante where the dough is the whole argument, worked for digestibility and cooked in separate ovens depending on style. The toppings are restrained and local, letting the crust do the talking rather than burying it. The room keeps it simple, the service pays attention, and lunch and dinner both run daily. A solid neighbourhood pizza shop that takes the craft seriously without making a show of it.
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Rank 8. Dai! Brò
Neapolitan Pizza
A Neapolitan-style pizza spot on the edge of Taranto where the dough is soft and airy and the fried starters, stuffed with cheese and pepper or mortadella and pistachio, disappear fast. The team puts care into sourcing local ingredients, and the combinations on the pizza read thoughtful rather than fussy. Bring your own wine, though, because the drinks list is essentially a shrug. Listed among 50 Top Pizza Italy's Excellent Pizzerias.
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Rank 9. Biga Lovers
Contemporary Pizza
A large outdoor terrace fills up on warm Taranto evenings, and the pizza here is the crispy, contemporary kind that holds its own without needing a manifesto. The fried starters and meatballs with various toppings give you good reasons to arrive hungry. Beer is taken seriously; the wine list leans on a single producer, so order accordingly. The room is relaxed and the service knows when to disappear.
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A no-frills pizza spot in Taranto where the dough menu splits into classics, multigrain, and a protein-rich line aimed at athletes, which is either very niche or very Puglia. The atmosphere is casual and the service moves fast, so nobody lingers over the menu descriptions, which are admittedly sparse. The pistachio croquette has been known to distract from everything else on offer.
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Parked along the waterfront with the Aragonese castle filling the window, Baroné is a Taranto all-day spot running from breakfast pastries through to dinner pizzas. The dough gets a long, slow rise that keeps it light, and the menu moves between straightforward classics and more composed options. The 50 Top Pizza guide lists it among Italy's excellent pizzerias, which tracks for a place this committed to its flour.
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Rank 12. Spicchi & Morsi
Pizza
A bright, modern pizzeria on Viale Magna Grecia with big windows and a menu that wanders cheerfully past pizza into burgers, sandwiches, and salads. The crust is thin in the center, soft and airy, with a satisfying crunch at the edge. Toppings lean toward combinations like eggplant parmigiana with buffalo mozzarella, or gorgonzola with caramelized pears. A young, attentive crew keeps things moving. Listed among 50 Top Pizza Italy's Excellent Pizzerias.
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Rank 13. Sapore Perfetto
Pizza
Stone rooms that feel genuinely old sit alongside a glassed-in dining room and a garden made for slow summer evenings, which gives this Conversano pizzeria an unusual range of moods for one address. The sourdough crust runs light, and the team leans on local sourcing with the seriousness of people who've thought about it. Parking is easy, the staff can talk you through the menu, and the beer list has room to grow.
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A Neapolitan-style pizzeria in a small Puglian town, DaMa builds its reputation on a 72-hour dough that arrives thin in the center and pillowy at the crust. The room is split between a larger open space with a visible oven and a quieter, more modern side room. Toppings stay largely classic, which suits the dough fine. Beer selection is a work in progress, so wine might be the safer call.
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Rank 15. Conté Pizzeria
Contemporary Pizza
Seasonality shapes everything at this contemporary pizzeria in Conversano, where the toppings shift with what's good and the combinations are clearly thought through rather than thrown together. The pan-fried pizza comes thick and crunchy outside, cloud-soft within, and a rotating weekly pizza keeps things honest. Small local producers supply much of the pantry. The crowd tends to linger, which the attentive service seems to quietly encourage.
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Rank 16. Brando Pizza Bistrot
Contemporary Pizza
Seven versions of the Margherita on the menu, and that's before you get to the rest. Brando is a contemporary pizzeria in Gioia del Colle where the dough leans toward the refined end, the local DOP mozzarella shows up everywhere it can, and the wine list takes itself as seriously as the pizza does. The room is comfortable and put-together, the kind of place where ordering a cocktail with your slice feels completely natural.
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A Lecce pizzeria spread across two floors with a big outdoor terrace for summer, 400 Gradi has become the city's go-to for Neapolitan-style pizza built on a slow, 24-hour indirect dough. The menu shifts with the seasons while keeping the signatures intact, and the staff can actually talk you through the wine and beer list without making it a performance. The desserts are unexpectedly creative for a pizza place, which is either a bonus or a trap, depending on your appetite.
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Rank 18. Loop
Croccante Pizza
The thin, crackery crust is the whole argument here: this small, informal Lecce pizza shop has built a following around a lighter-than-expected dough that the team tops with combinations running from straight-ahead Margherita variations to a coffee-inflected house creation. The room is compact and the staff actually pays attention, which is rarer than it should be. A tight but considered wine and beer list rounds things out.
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Rank 19. Uemé
Contemporary Pizza
A contemporary pizzeria near Lecce's center where the drink list is built around the pies, not bolted on as an afterthought. The dough leans on heritage cereals and sits light, and the menu moves between DOP-anchored classics and more modern combinations using creams and marinated raw ingredients. The room is warm and closely set, and the service knows the menu cold.
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A pizza restaurant in Lecce where the dough is made entirely with type 1 flour, kept thin and light enough that a second pie feels like a reasonable choice. The room has a vintage-meets-contemporary look that someone clearly sweated over, and the wine list runs past a hundred labels, which is ambitious for a pizzeria by anyone's measure. Seasonal toppings, a proper dessert menu, and staff who actually know the list. It ranked on 50 Top Pizza Italy.
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A Neapolitan-style pizza spot in a small town outside Lecce where the dough is quietly the whole point. The multigrain version in particular develops real aroma and a crust that knows when to stop. A tasting menu lets you work through different dough interpretations, which is a more interesting evening than it sounds. The room goes for alchemist theatrics, wood and iron and swing tables, charming in ambition if occasionally less so in practice.
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A pizzeria in a small Salentine town where the kitchen turns out both Neapolitan and Pugliese-style pies, and takes both seriously enough to run a separate production lab for pan pizzas and gluten-free options. The appetizers, frittatas and croquettes among them, are worth the table wait. In summer, tables spill into the square. The wine list is well chosen, the beer selection broader than you'd expect this far south.
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Rank 23. Giotto
Contemporary Pizza
The Queen Wheel arrives larger than a standard pie, cooked in three stages, and finished with your choice of raw Puglian extra virgin olive oil. This is a contemporary Bari pizzeria where the dough itself is the point, rotating through cereals, black rice, beer must, and citrus variations depending on what the team is working with. Round, white, red, and rectangular versions all share the menu, and the toppings balance the traditional with the quietly inventive.