The Best Pizza Near Forme Restaurant, by the Record
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A pizza spot in Brescia where the menu is short by design, and every combination on it feels thought through rather than thrown together. The doughs are soft and fragrant, the toppings creative without tipping into chaos, and the beer and wine list holds its own. The room is contemporary but not cold. It ranked 56th on 50 Top Pizza Italy, which in a country that takes this sort of thing very seriously is a statement worth noting.
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A farmhouse-style pizzeria outside Brescia where the dough comes from the Pappalardo tradition and the menu runs from a solid margherita to pizzas topped with freshwater fish from the local lakes. Roman-style slices sit alongside full pies and tasting portions, so you can cover a lot of ground in one sitting. The staff knows the menu cold and moves with it. Ranked in the 50 Top Pizza Italy and 50 Top Pizza World lists.
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Rank 3. Salamensa
Pizza
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The format here splits between slices and full sharing courses built for the whole table, which gives this Salò-area pizza spot an easy, convivial feel that leans more Brooklyn than Brescia. The doughs are light and airy without being fussy about it, and the toppings are restrained enough that you actually taste them. The room goes industrial and bright. The Bufalina is the one regulars tend to point at.
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Rank 5. Rustichel
Neapolitan Pizza
A lakeside pizzeria on the shores of Lake Garda, Rustichel pairs Neapolitan-style pies with a view that does most of the decorating. The pizzas lean into quality ingredients, and the fried pizzini make a strong case for starting before you start. Grilled pizza rounds out the options for anyone feeling experimental. The wine list runs deep, which for a pizza spot is a pleasant surprise.
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A pizza spot in the quiet outskirts of Bergamo that somehow requires reservations on a Tuesday. The room is simple and loud in the good way, and the dough gets 48 hours of natural leavening before it sees any heat, which shows in the airy crumb and the charred, chewy crust. Toppings lean creative and seasonal, sourced through an organic supply chain the team takes seriously. Craft beers and Franciacorta round things out.
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Rank 7. Anima Romita
Contemporary Pizza
A pizza spot in Crema where the music is curated as carefully as the dough, and events are part of the identity rather than an afterthought. The Tramonti line uses a rustic wholemeal base with a faint fennel note, and the fried starters, particularly the arancino, hold their own. Slices come traditional or contemporary, and the kitchen leans into cocktail pairings with some conviction. Relaxed but put-together, the kind of place that takes pizza seriously without taking itself too seriously.
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Rank 8. Nasti dal 1967
Campanian Pizza
A pizza spot in Bergamo that has been blending Neapolitan roots with Lombardy's pantry for what feels like forever. The dough program runs from classic sourdough rounds to alternative-grain options and something called "corn clouds," which sounds like a weather event but apparently lands light on the plate. The wine list is serious, and the adjacent wine bar next door handles aperitivo and nightcaps for those who want to stretch the evening.
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A wood-fired oven built by Neapolitan artisans anchors the room at this Verona pizzeria, surrounded by hand-painted Vietri ceramics and the low hum of regulars who clearly never left. The dough ferments for 72 hours, which gives the crust that particular lightness that makes you eat more than you planned. Seasonal specials sit alongside the classics, and the desserts, including a millefoglie from celebrated local chef Giancarlo Perbellini, are not an afterthought.
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A pizzeria on the outskirts of Verona where the dough alone involves up to eight different flours and fermentations long enough to make you feel guilty for eating the result so fast. The menu runs classic rounds, pizza by the slice, focaccia, farinata, and Detroit-style by reservation only, the last one paired with gin and tonics because why not. The gluten-free operation is run by the chef's son, a vice world champion in that category.
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Perched at the edge of Bosco Chiesanuova in the Lessini Mountains, Araldo is a pizzeria that treats local sourcing like a quiet obsession. Neapolitan rounds share the menu with Roman-style shovel pizzas made from ancient grains, named after a Cimbrian word from when medieval German settlers colonized these hills. Cheeses come from Monte Veronese dairies, cured meats from the village butcher. Good beer and wine list to match.
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Rank 12. Donatelli 3011
Italian Pizza
A pizza restaurant in San Giovanni Lupatoto that takes its crust seriously enough to offer a dedicated sauce menu for dipping the leftovers, which says something about confidence. The interior leans industrial chic with soft lighting, giving it more metropolitan energy than the address might suggest. Toppings run from a straightforward Margherita to combinations involving gin tonic, and the kitchen makes everything fresh. Named on 50 Top Pizza Italy's Excellent Pizzerias list.
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A Neapolitan-style pizzeria in Melegnano's old center, where the dough gets the obsessive treatment: long leavening, DOP-certified toppings, and a crust that holds together even cold. The menu is short, which is usually a good sign. Seasonal specials rotate in alongside the regulars, and the artisanal draft beer list is taken as seriously as the pizza. Quick, young staff keep things moving at a pace that feels deliberate rather than rushed.
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Rank 14. Renato Bosco
Pizza
Renato Bosco has spent years classifying pizza the way a scientist classifies species, and the menu reflects it: named doughs, named leavening styles, named formats, each doing something slightly different from the last. This is a pizza restaurant where tasting menus are genuinely how you're meant to eat, moving through pan, focaccia, and airy eight-slice rounds before landing on a round Tonda with a proper cornicione.
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Rank 15. Porca Vacca
Pizza
A pizza spot in Dro where the covered veranda fills up fast and the garden takes over in summer. The dough gets a long, slow rise, which gives the crust that slightly blistered, fragrant quality worth noticing. The menu runs from straightforward marinara to more composed pies built around Southern Italian flavors. Grilled dishes round things out for anyone at the table who's made other plans.