Monday, August 31, 2026

The Best Pizza Near Lo Scopiccio, by the Record

  1. The dough is the whole argument here: long-fermented, handled by a team that treats pizza-making as a craft rather than a throughput exercise. This is a pizza restaurant in Pontedera where the toppings, including nduja and caciocavallo nods to southern Italy, are chosen to pair rather than pile. The menu has a reference or two that enthusiasts will clock with a quiet nod. If you want something fast and familiar, this is the wrong room.


  2. Rank 2. Bona

    Tuscan Pizza


  3. On the outskirts of Lucca, this Neapolitan pizzeria skips the charm offensive and just makes good pizza: soft, well-leavened dough, a generous crust, and toppings that lean bold rather than precious. The fried starters and Campanian snacks are the kind of thing you keep picking at while the next pizza arrives. Prices are reasonable enough that ordering an extra dish feels like common sense rather than commitment.


  4. A pizzeria on Piazza Napoleone, the grandest square in Lucca, with tables outside that catch the full theater of the evening. The style leans Neapolitan, the service moves fast, and focaccias sold street-side are a good reason to wander past even if you're not sitting down. Inside is a bit tight, which somehow only adds to the chaos-friendly charm. Reservations are a smart idea.


  5. A Neapolitan-style pizzeria tucked beside the church of San Frediano, where the dough is famously light and the toppings pull from Campanian suppliers alongside Tuscan growers just down the road. The room goes rustic with a modern edge, the service moves fast without feeling rushed, and the fried starters are worth ordering before anyone even looks at the pizza list. Listed among 50 Top Pizza Italy's Excellent Pizzerias.


  6. Rank 6. Bottega Dani

    Gourmet Pizza

    A pizzeria in Cecina where the gourmet pies go through a double cook, steamed then baked, landing somewhere between pillowy and crisp in a way that takes a little explaining. The dough work is clearly the obsession here, and the raw materials are chosen with matching care. While you wait, there's an aperitivo in a garden overlooking a pool, which feels like a reasonable way to spend a Tuesday. The cellar and beer list both punch above what you'd expect.


  7. 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.


  8. Rank 8. La Fenice

    Wood-fired Pizza

    A contemporary pizzeria in Pistoia that ranks in the 50 Top Pizza Italy and World lists, La Fenice takes the wood-fired pie seriously enough that the dough rests for a day and a half before it ever sees a flame. The menu wanders pleasantly beyond pizza into fusion appetizers and airy bites the chef calls his signature work. Staff know the beer and wine list cold and will steer you without making you feel tested.


  9. Rank 9. 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.


  10. Rank 10. Apogeo

    Wood-fired Pizza

    A garden pizzeria off the A12 autostrada, which sounds like a backhanded compliment until you're sitting under the greenery with a wood-fired pie in front of you. The crust is the point here, crisp and substantial enough to hold its own, and the menu splits neatly between classic and creative without chasing whatever's fashionable this season. Desserts come from a separate, clearly capable hand. It ranks on both 50 Top Pizza Italy and 50 Top Pizza World.


  11. 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.


  12. The work counter and visible oven sit center-stage here, which tells you what the room is about before you've even sat down. Battil'oro is a pizzeria in Versilia's increasingly crowded coastal dining scene, turning out both classic and creative pies on light, airy dough, with a gluten-free option alongside. Wines by the glass, beers, and cocktails round things out. Weekends fill up fast, but the team keeps the floor moving without making you feel rushed.


  13. 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.


  14. Rank 14. 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.


  15. 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.


  16. 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.


  17. Rank 17. 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.


  18. Rank 18. 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.


  19. 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.


  20. Rank 20. 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.


  21. The open kitchen and pizza oven face the room so you can watch every pie come together, which at a Neapolitan-style pizzeria near the Marina di Massa seafront feels like a fair promise of what's coming. The dough runs soft and light, the ingredients lean on DOP-certified products, and lactose-free options sit alongside seasonal specials. Cloth napkins and cutlery rests suggest the place takes itself seriously without charging you for the attitude.


  22. 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.


  23. Rank 23. 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.


Recents

  • No recent searches yet.

Eat Score

The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

    How we score →

    Drink Score

    The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

      How we score →

      Stay Score

      The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

        How we score →

        Do Score

        The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

          How we score →

          Best Place Score

          The Best Place Score rates the area around a point, not any one place. It runs on the scored places nearby: more good stuff within reach, higher score. If it looks low, we probably haven't found enough critics out here yet.