The Best Pizza Near Contrada, by the Record
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Rank 1. Chicco
Wood-fired Pizza
A wood-fired pizza spot in Colle di Val d'Elsa where the dough gets long leavening times and the toppings lean into local PDO producers rather than the usual suspects. The team will walk the table through a tasting menu, which is a nice way to eat here, and there's a pairing of craft beers and oils that sounds odd until it doesn't. Comfortable room, attentive service, and the kind of place the town has quietly relied on for a while.
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Rank 2. La Pergola
Pizza
A medieval hilltop village in the Sienese countryside is a bold location for a pizza joint, but the terrace view over rolling Tuscan hills makes a strong argument for the commute. La Pergola turns out light-dough pies that run from revisited classics to more adventurous combinations, all backed by good local wine. The family-run warmth of the room is part of the point, not just a bonus.
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Rank 3. Pizzeria Centrale
Neapolitan Pizza
A family-run pizzeria in a small Florentine town, now in its second generation, where the Neapolitan-style dough is kept lean on the crust for people who want crunch over chew. The menu is arranged in five sections, one of which leans on nostalgia, another on whatever the current chef felt like. Some of the mushrooms come from his own foraging trips, which is either charming or showing off, probably both.
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Rank 4. Giovanni Santarpia
Neapolitan Pizza
A Campanian transplant running one of Florence's more serious Neapolitan pizza shops, with a dough that goes through a long cold ferment before it sees any heat. The crust comes out soft and fragrant, the toppings lean on well-sourced producers, and the menu covers classics alongside house originals. A fried pizza filled with lampredotto is the kitchen's nod to its adopted city. It ranks on both 50 Top Pizza Italy and 50 Top Pizza World.
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The dough here was developed with the University of Florence and a biodynamic agriculture association, which is either very Tuscan or very extra, depending on your mood. This pizza shop in the Coverciano neighborhood turns out thin, light pies built on organic stone-ground flour and long-fermented sourdough, with vegetables pulled from biodynamic gardens around the city. The room is informal and the service moves fast, so you're not committing to an evening.
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Rank 6. Il Vecchio e il Mare
Neapolitan Pizza
The name is Hemingway-adjacent, but the real draw is a courtyard tucked behind a Florence street and a Neapolitan pizza dough that manages to be both light and serious about itself. This is a full-service restaurant that doubles as a seafood spot, with a wine and champagne list that suggests someone here has opinions. The tomato sauce gets mentioned with the kind of reverence usually reserved for relatives.
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Exposed beams and stone set the tone in this compact Florentine pizzeria tucked into the historic center, where the sourcing is taken seriously from the flour to the oil to the coffee. The round and paddle pies lean into Tuscan-Italian combinations, and the wine and beer lists are short but chosen with care. Service is cheerful without being chaotic, which is harder to pull off than it sounds.
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Rank 8. Forneria
Neapolitan Pizza
A Neapolitan-style pizzeria steps from Ponte Vecchio, which means the view over the Arno comes with the dough. The crust is light and the toppings run from the classics to a few creative detours worth exploring. Fried starters and croquettes round things out before the pizza arrives. Prices reflect the address, as they will anywhere this close to Florence's most photographed bridge, but the service moves fast enough that no one lingers guiltily.
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Rank 9. Giotto
Neapolitan Pizza
A Neapolitan pizza spot steps from Santa Maria Novella, run by a pizzaiolo from Ischia who's landed near the tourist crossroads and made it work. The dough is long-leavened, the toppings generous, and you can watch the whole operation from the dining room, which runs glamorous-dim in a way Florence's centro storico rarely does. Ranked in 50 Top Pizza Italy. Good for a sit-down or a box to eat on the train, which puts it in rare company.
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A pizzeria in the Oltrarno's San Frediano neighborhood where the dough is made light enough that you won't be horizontal by nine. The crust comes in a "cartwheel" style if you want to commit, and the fried starters, especially the mozzarella in carrozza, pull their weight alongside the pies. The room is modern and unfussy, the service moves, and the prices stay honest. A solid neighborhood pizza shop doing the right things quietly.
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Rank 11. Pizzeria Primavera
Modern Pizza
A pizza spot on Florence's residential fringe where the dough gets a proper long rise and the topping combinations wander confidently past tradition into stranger territory. Fried starters keep the table busy while you wait. The room is relaxed, the staff unhurried, and the outdoor seating fills up with families and small dogs, which are apparently welcome here. Reservations are required even for takeout, which tells you something about the regulars.
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A roomy, modern pizzeria just outside Umbertide's center, near the sports complex where parking is never a problem. The menu runs Neapolitan-style pies alongside appetizers, burgers, and a kids' menu, so it's built for a full table rather than a solo slice. The team moves quickly without making you feel rushed, which is harder than it sounds on a busy Friday.
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A pizzeria set inside an old city wall in Empoli, where someone thought to pair stone arches with sleek modern decor and somehow it works. The menu runs from well-executed Neapolitan classics to bolder, less predictable combinations, with the same attention given to the traditional appetizers. The staff know the menu well enough to walk you through it without making you feel like you need to.
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Rank 14. Vecchia Napoli
Neapolitan Pizza
A wood-fired Neapolitan pizza spot tucked into a farmhouse off the kind of road you only know if someone told you. The setting is rustic and roomy, the atmosphere unpretentious, and the kitchen keeps the pizza straightforward and honest, the way tradition demands. Weekends fill up fast and the take-out orders never stop, which tells you what the locals think. The fried starters are worth ordering before the pizza arrives.
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Rank 15. Meunier
Pizza
The hook here is the pairing: pizza and Champagne, a combination that either sounds ridiculous or makes complete sense depending on your mood, and this Umbrian pizza restaurant makes a quiet case for the latter. The dough is airy and crackling at the crust, the toppings chosen with some restraint, and the room is spare and bright. It ranks on the 50 Top Pizza World list, and regulars also come for the holiday leavened goods and brioche meant for gelato.
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A neighborhood pizza shop on the edge of Prato where the decision between round and rectangular is not trivial. The shared rectangular format lets a table split three different toppings, which is the kind of pragmatic generosity that makes a small room feel bigger. The dough is well-hydrated and seriously considered, with a choice of flours that the staff will happily talk you through without making it a lecture.
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Rank 17. Marghereat
Neapolitan Pizza
The margherita comes in three versions here, which tells you something about how seriously this Neapolitan pizza spot takes its namesake dish. The crust runs high and airy, the dough slow enough to sit well afterward. It's informal and relaxed, at the foot of Perugia's centro storico, with a warmth that doesn't feel performed. Across the street, a sister space called Marghereat Lab experiments with Roman-style pizza and small pan versions if you want to compare notes.
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On the outskirts of Perugia, this spacious pizzeria draws locals who come as much for the room as the round stuff. The menu runs from starters through traditional pies to the small pan-baked tegamino style, all made with sourced ingredients. Service moves at the kind of pace that doesn't make you feel processed. 50 Top Pizza lists it among Italy's excellent pizzerias, which in pizza terms is saying something.
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Rank 19. Re Cornicione
Neapolitan Pizza
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On the outskirts of Perugia, in a setting that looks more auto workshop than trattoria, this slice shop runs its dough through a long fermentation that keeps the crust light enough to eat at lunch without regretting it by two. The red bases are well-balanced, and the roasted potato and sausage slice is the one worth pointing at. Outdoor seating and easy parking make it a natural pit stop for the industrial-zone crowd who actually knows what they're doing.
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The name comes from the fifteen curves of the Mugello Circuit just up the road, and the menu follows the theme with more charm than gimmick. This pizzeria serves contemporary Neapolitan pies at dinner, with ingredients sourced from small Italian producers and pairings that treat the pizza as a full dish rather than a vehicle for toppings. Lunchtimes bring Roman-style pizza al taglio. The room runs fast and friendly, the way a place near a racetrack probably should.