The Best Italian Food in Italy

A pizza spot in Alcamo where the menu is framed as a journey through past, present, and future, which sounds like marketing until you taste it. Long-fermented doughs and triple-cooked rounds are the foundation; Sicilian-style focaccia hybrids fill out the rest. The team behind it clearly has a point of view, and a tasting menu exists for those who want to work through the whole argument in one sitting.

A pizza lab in the middle of Palermo's old city, Funnaco builds its menu around three distinct doughs, including a local perciasacchi low-gluten option alongside the classics. The "crunch" pizzas, baked twice and topped after the oven, arrive with a shatter to them that regular Neapolitan doesn't attempt. Staff walk you through each choice without turning it into a lecture, which is rarer than it sounds. Local beers and wines round out the list.

A Neapolitan pizza spot in Canale where the dough itself is the point, made with blends that range from classic to spelt, chickpea, and sunflower flour, each one built for lightness and a long ferment you can actually feel afterward. The kitchen treats sourcing the way other places treat decoration, and the service keeps pace without fuss. A pleasant bill is a reliable part of the deal.

A self-described "trattoria 2.0" on the edge of Udine where the chef brings a fine-dining background to three styles of pizza, all built on organic grains and sourdough. The Alta leans Roman, the Cornicione revisits Neapolitan, and the Gourmet wanders into Friulian territory. Bread, pasta, and desserts come from the same kitchen logic: technique first. The room is spacious and stylish, with outdoor seating for when the weather cooperates.

A neighborhood pizzeria in the Nola hinterland where the dough follows the old Neapolitan playbook and the kitchen pays attention to where its ingredients come from. The fried starters come out dry and crisp, which is harder than it sounds. The room is tidy and calm, the kind of place where the welcome feels like it costs nothing extra. Casual and unpretentious, with prices to match the setting.

The two wood-burning ovens sit in plain sight, which tells you most of what you need to know. GianPà is a contemporary Neapolitan pizza spot just outside Cassino's centro storico, where the dough follows tradition but the kitchen doesn't stop there. The beer list is carefully chosen, the ingredients clearly fussed over, and if you eat spicy, ask about the heat option, because it isn't 'nduja. Listed among 50 Top Pizza Italy's excellent pizzerias.

A Neapolitan pizza spot in Gioia Tauro with a pool, which sets the mood before you've even ordered. The dough is contemporary in technique but classic in flavor, and local Calabrian ingredients show up in ways that feel earned rather than gimmicky. The drinks list, cocktails, gin, and wines, gets real attention. Young crowds fill the room on warm nights, and the energy stays loose without tipping into chaos.

The open oven anchors the dining room at this Milanese pizzeria, where vintage furnishings give the whole thing an unhurried, neighborhood-parlor feel. The Neapolitan-style pies run on a semi-wholemeal dough, light and properly puffy at the crust, and the toppings lean creative without getting theatrical. Wine gets a serious list; cocktails and draft beer show up in a supporting role. Regulars who know the menu by heart fill the room on weeknights.

Fried pizza is the reason to linger at this Vomero trattoria, where the dough comes out golden, dry, and lighter than it has any right to be. The menu runs from classic Margherita and Marinara through Sunday-lunch staples like eggplant parmigiana and meatballs, and a cocktail bar handles the before and after. The kind of neighborhood spot where the staff runs a packed room without breaking a sweat.

The dough splits the difference between Neapolitan softness and Tuscan crispiness, which is either a compromise or a good idea depending on your loyalties. Gli Allocchi is a pizza spot in the hill town of Marradi, with a rustic room and a menu that leans into the surrounding countryside, including a pie built around Marrone del Mugello chestnuts when the season allows. The fried starters and desserts get equal attention from the kitchen.

Neapolitan-style pizza on the Adriatic coast, at a pizzeria that takes its crust seriously enough to have landed on the 50 Top Pizza Italy list. The dough is the point, with toppings that move between classic and gourmet without making a fuss about it. Fried starters and a cocktail menu designed to pair with pizza keep things interesting. The room has the kind of considered aesthetic that suggests someone cared, and the staff are the relaxed, helpful sort.

Tucked into the old alleys of Isernia, this pizza spot runs on a Neapolitan soul with Molisan roots, which is a combination the region doesn't let you forget. The dough is well-leavened and evenly baked, and the toppings lean hard into local ingredients, San Biase potatoes, Molise truffle, local pancetta. Outside tables in summer, a tidy interior in winter. Listed among 50 Top Pizza Italy's Excellent Pizzerias.

A Neapolitan pizza spot in a small Calabrian hill town where the dough is kept light and most of what goes on it comes from nearby. The room is modern without trying hard, the kind of place that works equally well for a family Tuesday or a Friday out with friends. Sandwiches and bar service round things out when pizza feels like a commitment. The staff, by all accounts, treat strangers like regulars from the first visit.

A Neapolitan-inspired pizzeria in the Salento countryside that splits its menu between classic pies and a more ambitious gourmet line, leaning on DOP products and local ingredients. The garden is the better place to sit, cozy and softly lit in a way the interior hasn't quite matched yet. It earned a spot on 50 Top Pizza Italy's Excellent Pizzerias list, which gives you a sense of the ambition on show.

A floor-to-ceiling window frames the Lucanian Apennines while you eat, which is either the second-best thing about this contemporary pizza spot or the first, depending on the day. The dough gets a long, careful ferment, landing somewhere between airy and substantial. Toppings lean into Apulian ingredients without turning the menu into a folklore exhibit. The beverage list holds its own, and the service is polished without being stiff.

A Neapolitan pizza spot tucked under the arcades of Piazza Vittoria, where the high-rimmed crust gets a long, slow rise before it ever sees a flame. The room is tidier than you'd expect from a place this warm, and the family running it treats regulars and first-timers with the same unhurried attention. Dogs are welcome, and the outdoor tables under the arcade are a fine reason to linger over a seasonal pie longer than you planned.

A Neapolitan-style pizza spot right on the Chiavari seafront, with bright, colourful rooms that lean into the holiday-town energy rather than fighting it. The dough is light and carefully sourced, and the kitchen pairs San Marzano tomatoes and Campanian fior di latte with combinations that wander well beyond the classics. The wine list holds its own, and the craft beer selection is taken seriously. Young staff who seem to enjoy being there round out the picture.

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.

A Neapolitan-style pizzeria in Caserta where the dough is light enough to make the purists nod and the Bronte, built on burnt wheat flour with mortadella and pistachio crumble, gives them something to actually talk about. The room is simple and well-kept, the staff attentive without hovering. The croquettes are a solid start. A short drinks list rounds things out without fuss.

Sitting along the old Appian Way, this family-run pizzeria turns out contemporary Neapolitan pies on dough that's light and well hydrated. The menu ranges from straightforward classics to combinations leaning on Sannio cheeses and cured meats, and the fried starters, especially the pasta frittatas, are worth ordering before the pizza arrives. The room is minimal and modern, the kind of place that works for an easy weeknight dinner without any fuss.

Neapolitan-style pizza in Avellino, a short walk from the old center, where the pies tend to spill past the plate edge without quite tipping over, which is apparently a fine line worth walking. The menu runs long with variations between tradition and house specialties, and the team will work off-script with seasonal ingredients if you ask. A trattoria kitchen runs alongside the pizza, folding regional recipes into the mix.

An agri-pizzeria outside Cerveteri where the dining room is all heavy wood and the setting is countryside green in every direction. The pizza is Roman style, thin and crisp, and the menu leans into the classics, cacio e pepe, amatriciana, that territory. The house-made supplì come in rotating flavors and tend to disappear fast. It's the kind of place where the drive out feels like part of the point.

The stone interior is old but the menu reads decidedly modern, a mix of contemporary and gourmet pan pizzas built around semolina and burnt wheat doughs that go through a long, careful fermentation. This is a sit-down pizzeria near the Molfetta center with a terrace and proper table service, the kind of place where the wine and oil list gets as much attention as the beer. Toppings lean local and seasonal without making a fuss about it.

Cagliari's marina neighbourhood has no shortage of squares to sit around doing nothing, and Impasto overlooks one of the livelier ones. It's a pizzeria where the oven is in full view, so you can watch the dough work happen before the Neapolitan-style pizza lands on your table, properly leavened and not overloaded. Housemade pasta fills out the menu for anyone who arrives outvoted. The service moves quickly without feeling rushed.

A fried pizza shop in Rione Sanità run entirely by women, which tells you something about the care and organization before you even sit down. The dark couches and clean interior land somewhere between neighborhood spot and something more considered. The dough comes out uniformly golden and dry, never greasy, stuffed with ricotta, provola, and cicoli in the classic version. A short but thoughtful wine list means you don't have to drink whatever's closest.

A Caserta family transplanted to the Aosta Valley, making Neapolitan pizza in the Alps, which is either an odd choice or an obvious one depending on how hungry you are. The dough is long-fermented, soft, and light, and the menu stretches beyond pizza into appetizers and full plates, with a small shop attached. Ranked on 50 Top Pizza Italy, it draws the kind of crowd that drives a while and doesn't mention it.

A cocktail bar greets you at the entrance before the pizza even enters the picture, which tells you something about KLU's ambitions. This contemporary Neapolitan pizza spot in Prati does thin bases with properly puffy, fragrant crusts, a short list of around twenty pies leaning on the classics with a few clever twists, and a wine list deep enough to order by the glass without embarrassment. The staff has that warm, lightly theatrical southern Italian energy.

Roman-style pizza shop in Pomezia where the dough gets a 48-hour rise before being stretched to near-translucent thinness. The menu runs through red, white, and specialty pies, plus the Panozzo, a thicker stuffed format that splits the difference between pizza and sandwich. Fried snacks and a solid beer selection round things out. The crust is the point here, so eating it fresh off the pass rather than letting it sit is the move.

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.

A pizza restaurant in the pedestrian heart of Grado's old town, with tables spilling outside into the foot traffic. The menu leans contemporary Neapolitan, updated each year and pulling ingredients from both Campania and Friuli, so a Neapolitan pie might arrive topped with local scallops or black truffle. The list is long and genuinely creative, with each topping sourced and described on the menu, which the kind of place that does this either earns or doesn't.

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.

The fried pizza here comes folded into a cartwheel shape, which is either a gimmick or just how they've always done it, and in Naples the line between the two is thin. This is a classic pizzeria in the historic center, all tuff stone walls, painted altars, and Neapolitan kitsch done with enough conviction to feel like atmosphere rather than decor. Maria Cacialli runs it, daughter of the man who famously fed Bill Clinton a slice in 1994.

A trattoria in a quiet corner of Abruzzo where the wood-fired pizza sits alongside the full weight of Vastese cooking, and where finding Ventricina del Vastese as a topping is not a given anywhere else. The doughs are handled carefully, the menu runs from traditional to gently creative, and the wine list leans into natural pours. Young staff work the room with more composure than most seasoned ones manage.

A pizzeria that's been an institution in Benevento for generations, a short walk from the Arch of Trajan, named after a beloved 1950s Italian film star. The dough is Neapolitan-style, long-leavened and light, and the toppings lean into the local pantry, Sannio sausage, caciocavallo, regional olive oil. Service is warm and knows what it's doing, which in a town this size means everyone probably knows your order already.

A hilltop pizzeria outside Paestum where the terrace takes in a sweep from the Cilento mountains to the sea, which is a fine thing to be looking at while waiting for your pizza. The dough leans rustic, the toppings lean local, and you can order by the meter if you're feeling ambitious or feeding a crowd. A relaxed, no-fuss room where a summer evening can disappear quite pleasantly.

A Ligurian pizza spot in the center of Levanto where the dough is kept deliberately light, the kind that makes you forget you've eaten three slices. The toppings lean into local pantries, and the staff steers you through them without the usual fanfare. Craft beers and regional wines round out the short list. It's a small, tidy room, and the whole thing has the quiet confidence of a place that doesn't need to explain itself.

A pizza spot in Chieti where the dough comes two ways: pinsa style, thick and pillowy, or classic Roman, thin and snappy. Either way, the toppings lean hard into Abruzzo's larder, which gives the menu a distinctly local character that the Roman base doesn't usually have. The kitchen clearly enjoys the pairing more than you'd expect from the setup, and the result tends to quietly outlast whatever you planned to do afterward.

A panoramic terrace overlooking Gallipoli sets the scene at this contemporary Neapolitan pizzeria, where the dough leans dry and digestible, with a distinctly Apulian crunch folded into the tradition. The team is young and keeps things moving, and the appetizers are worth grazing through before the pizza arrives. Ingredients pull from both Puglia and Campania, which in this corner of southern Italy is less a marketing note than just good geography.

The crust here rises so high it practically frames the toppings like a picture border, which is either the point or the whole point. This Neapolitan-style pizzeria in Monsampolo del Tronto lets the chef's baking background do the talking: dough made the night before, easy on the stomach, and topped with ingredients pulled from across Italy's regions. Start with the fried montanarine before the pizza arrives. Loredana runs the dining room with evident care.

A pizzeria set inside the former seafront home of Calabrian singer-songwriter Rino Gaetano, which is either the most charming detail you'll hear all week or a reason to book a table immediately. The style is contemporary Neapolitan, live-leavened and elastic with a gourmet lean, and some pies are developed alongside outside chefs. Outdoor tables face the water, and the staff manage the room without fuss.

A contemporary Neapolitan-style pizzeria in the Stampace neighborhood, where the dough is well hydrated and the crust has real structure. The mood is young and informal, the kind of place that loosens up fast. Creative toppings get the most thought here, with combinations that manage to be inventive without tipping into chaos. The drink list holds its own, and the desserts are stranger and better than you'd expect from a pizza place.

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.

A Neapolitan-style pizza restaurant in central Genoa where the lighting is soft enough that you'll notice someone actually thought about it. The dough and the bake are the team's main argument, and the menu plays it out through a wide range of toppings, including the option to stuff the crust itself. Cocktails, wine, and beer round things out, and the service moves with the kind of ease that doesn't call attention to itself.

A Neapolitan-leaning pizzeria that keeps the tradition but lightens it up, using type 1 flour dough that gives the crust presence without overwhelming the toppings. The room is informal and lively, the kind of dinner where no one expects you to dress up or lower your voice. The wine list runs deeper than you'd expect for a pizza spot, and the desserts stick to the classics without apology.

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.

A Neapolitan pizza spot in Cesenatico, steps from the old canal port, where the dough gets a proper rise and the tomato sauce is sweet enough to notice. The team runs a warm room, with the front-of-house steering first-timers through the menu and the pizza maker keeping things lively from the oven. Exactly the kind of neighborhood pizzeria that doesn't need to announce itself.

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.

Fried pizza is the opening argument here, and the kitchen in Rome's historic center makes a case for Neapolitan style that the city's own pizza partisans find hard to dismiss. Montanarine and pasta frittata do their work as starters before the wood-fired pies arrive. It's a quick, no-fuss pizzeria, the kind where the service moves faster than you expect and the menu does most of the talking.

A wood-fired oven and a firm no to anything fancy: this Calabrian pizzeria plants its flag in classic Neapolitan tradition and doesn't waver. The dough is carefully made, the fried montanare and calzones hold their own alongside the pizzas, and the panuozzi are worth the carb reckoning. Prices stay reasonable enough that regulars actually come back without a special occasion as cover. Neapolitan desserts round things out.

On the outskirts of Sarzana, this artisan pizza shop splits its menu between classic Neapolitan rounds and a thin, crispy pan pizza that the kitchen has spent serious time developing. Toppings lean on local and small-producer ingredients, and the wine cellar is deep enough to suggest they take the pairing side seriously. It landed a spot on 50 Top Pizza Italy, which tracks for a place where the dough research is clearly ongoing.

A pizza restaurant in a calm residential pocket of Palermo, with linked dining rooms and a terrace big enough to matter. The dough has a proper, pronounced crust, and the toppings lean hard into Sicilian pantry staples, the kitchen treating local tradition as a subject worth studying rather than just a backdrop. The menu goes well beyond pizza, and beer or wine pairings are available for those who want a more structured meal.

A Neapolitan pizza spot in Jesolo where the dining room is wrapped in plants and flowers, giving the whole thing an unexpectedly garden-party feel. The kitchen works with long leavening doughs and leans into both classic Neapolitan and stuffed varieties, with ingredient pairings that seem to have been thought about rather than inherited. Families, couples, and tables of friends all seem equally at home here, which takes some doing.

A pizzeria tucked into the center of Vinovo, small enough that the summer terrace feels like a revelation. The doughs ferment long and run high in hydration, with local wholemeal flours giving the crust something to say. The menu splits its loyalty between Piedmont and the south of Italy, and whatever "Piedmontese sushi" means here, it appears on the menu with a straight face and reportedly works.

A pocket of Naples transplanted into a Parma piazza, with plastic chairs outside and Neapolitan spirit inside. This pizzeria turns out classic and contemporary pies in the Neapolitan style, with toppings that follow the season and a finishing drizzle of good olive oil on every pizza. The fried snacks are worth ordering alongside. Seasonal ingredients do the heavy lifting here, and the kitchen clearly sweats the small stuff.

A Neapolitan pizza spot a short walk from the Bolzano train station, decorated in blues that have clearly committed to a maritime theme despite being about as far from the sea as Italy allows. The high-crusted pies are made with quality ingredients, and the fried Neapolitan sides have their own following. There's a garden out back for anyone who prefers to eat al fresco, dogs included.

A mural greets you at the entrance before the visible oven does, which sets the tone for this cheerful Neapolitan-style pizzeria tucked into one of Salerno's old centro storico lanes. The decor keeps things simple and colorful, the service moves fast, and the dough leans toward the soft, yielding end of the Naples tradition. The margherita, marinara, and diavola each get a quiet twist without making a fuss about it.

A Neapolitan pizzeria that leans into the city's classic traditions while nudging them just far enough to feel considered. The room is tidy and intimate, the staff will accommodate a late booking without making you feel like a problem, and the wine list runs deeper than you'd expect. The dough is soft and well-handled, and the fried starters are the airy, greaseless kind worth ordering.

A Neapolitan pizza spot tucked into Casal Velino Marina by a chef who built his name in the States before bringing it home. The dough is contemporary Neapolitan, long-fermented and light, with a proper puffy crust, and you can order the wide "ruota di carro" style if you want the full wheel. Local Cilento ingredients mix with ideas carried back from America. The fried starters hold up, the drinks list is unfussy, and the front of house runs warm without trying too hard.

Pizza spot in Rizziconi where the dough is soft and the fried starters, including cacio e pepe supplì and pasta frittata, arrive before you've had time to settle in. The menu leans into Calabrian identity, with a pizza built around struncatura, the region's once-humble pasta, making a quiet case for local ingredients. Service is meticulous and the room is contemporary without trying too hard. Ranked on 50 Top Pizza Italy.

A pizzeria just outside Atripalda's centro storico, with a wood-fired oven in plain sight and a floor team that somehow keeps pace on packed nights without breaking a sweat. The dough is contemporary Neapolitan, airy and a little blistered at the edges, and the gourmet section leans into Irpinian producers in a way that feels local rather than labored. The fried starters, potatoes especially, are worth slowing down for before the pizza arrives.

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.

A neighborhood pizzeria in Salerno where the Neapolitan playbook, thin base and a lightly crispy crust, has stayed the same even as the room grew and a second oven arrived. The menu splits neatly between the classics and seasonal specials that follow the chef's own curiosity. The atmosphere is spartan in the way that suggests the money went into the dough, and the place moves fast, which the regulars seem to count on.

A Neapolitan pizza joint that transplanted itself, fully formed, to the center of a small Irpinian town. The dough is the classic southern style: bold, direct, with a restrained crust that stays out of its own way. Campanian ingredients run throughout, with a few Slow Food presidium products in the mix. The room is warm and unpretentious, with bits of Naples on the walls for anyone who needs the reminder of where the allegiances lie.

A Neapolitan pizza spot just outside Novara's center, where the dough is the whole conversation: high-hydration, high-quality flours, with ancient grains and kamut available, and specialty options like charcoal or multigrain for a small upcharge. The crust runs generous and the toppings don't hold back. The room mixes retro and post-industrial in a way that somehow works. A solid list of natural wines rounds things out, and the desserts are taken more seriously than you'd expect.

An old-school Neapolitan pizzeria that has been a Vomero institution forever, Gorizia runs on classic pies, arched brick walls, marble, and mirrors that have survived every renovation intact. The menu moves from margherita to pizza lasagna without apology, and the side dishes, mozzarella in carrozza, braised peppers, stuffed artichokes, have a way of quietly becoming the whole meal. The wine list is serious enough to include a dedicated Krug Room, which is either very Naples or very not Naples, depending on your mood.

A pizza shop in Quartu Sant'Elena, just outside Cagliari, that has planted a flag around a simple idea: Sardinian ingredients, full stop. The dough runs slightly crunchy and holds up under generous toppings without going soggy or stiff. Local cheeses, island sausage, and territorial produce do the heavy lifting on every pie. Prices are low enough that ordering a second pizza to compare becomes a reasonable decision rather than an act of defiance.

A wood-fired pizzeria that doubles as the kind of neighborhood anchor where arrosticini are as expected as the dough. The menu stays rooted in Abruzzese tradition, with toppings that name-check local landmarks, and the beer and wine list leans toward two nearby producers. Nothing here is trying to impress anyone, which is probably why the service feels so easy and the room fills with regulars.

A pizzeria near the center of Caserta where the dough does the talking, built in the local style with a tall, airy crust that stays light and chewy all the way to the last bite. The menu runs wide, with different flour blends and alternative cooking methods, including a "Pa-Regina" that riffs on the classic Neapolitan roast. The fried starters are the dry, greaseless kind worth ordering without hesitation. Staff know the menu and seem to enjoy explaining it.

A Neapolitan pizza shop that has transplanted a convincing slice of Naples into the Abruzzo countryside, down to the signage and the iconography, without tipping into theme-park territory. The dough is properly worked, the crust soft, the ingredients pulled from Campania's pantry. Fried starters and traditional sweets round things out. If you find yourself in Lanciano wanting the real Neapolitan experience, someone here has done the homework.

A Neapolitan pizza spot that's been around forever, and looks it in the best possible, unfussy sense: tiled rooms, traditional chairs, tablecloths and branded napkins that signal a family taking their name seriously. The dough runs notably light, the fried starters, mozzarella in carrozza, montanara, croquettes, arrive at the right temperature, which matters more than it sounds. A section of the menu is devoted to artists who've passed through over the decades.

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.

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.

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.

A Neapolitan-tradition pizzeria in Acerra where the fried starters arrive perfectly crisp and greaseless, which sets the tone nicely. Round pies come in classic and cartwheel sizes, the dough old-school, the toppings built from fresh ingredients. The room is cozy and familiar, the kind of place where the warmth of the service feels less like policy and more like the town itself. Expect a wait at peak hours, and plan to stay for it.

A Calabrian pizzeria with a menu long enough to cause genuine indecision, from fried starters to montanarine to a full regional dessert spread. The Neapolitan-style pies are contemporary and well-leavened, with one named for the local tuna company Callipo, which is either charming regionalism or great marketing, probably both. Courteous service, easy parking nearby, and bookings taken via WhatsApp if that tells you anything about the vibe.

The balance between crust and topping is the house obsession at this Neapolitan-style pizzeria in Cava de' Tirreni, where the chef draws on Cilento roots and Slow Food ingredients to keep things grounded. Two open ovens anchor the modern dining room, one dedicated to gluten-free pies. The fried starters are light and confident rather than heavy. A lively drinks list and attentive service round out what is a neighborhood spot that takes the work seriously.

Maradona watches over every table from the mural, which tells you exactly what kind of place this is before you've sat down. It's a Neapolitan pizza and trattoria spot near Sempione that leans hard into the folklore, fried dough, calzones, and Campania cooking included. On weekends the room tips into dinner-show territory with music and dancing. The pizza dough is notably light and airy, which is the thing people come back for.

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.

A hilltop village in the Marche hills is a slightly unexpected place to find a pizzeria with this much ambition, but here we are. The crust splits the difference between Neapolitan and Roman, slightly raised and satisfyingly crispy, and the toppings swing from classic to creative without losing the plot. The fried pizzas hold their crunch, and the whole room runs with the kind of warmth that makes the drive up feel like a reasonable idea.

A contemporary pizza spot in Termoli where the dough holds its own even when the room is packed on a summer Friday. The menu leans into local ingredients without making every pie feel like a manifesto, and the pairings read as considered rather than clever. Service keeps its composure when fully booked, which in this coastal town is saying something. Listed in 50 Top Pizza Italy's Excellent Pizzerias.

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.

The dining room at this Tramonti pizzeria looks like someone's nonna never quite got around to redecorating, and that's entirely the point. It's an old-school pizza house serving the local "Tramontine" style, made with heritage grains and offered round or fried. The pizza runs light and easy, the service is genuinely warm rather than performatively so, and the Amalfi Coast outside the window does the rest of the decorating.

A pizzeria on the corner of a handsome old building along Gioiosa Ionica's main street, with a modern interior that still feels relaxed rather than designed. The dough is the whole story here: contemporary Neapolitan style, reliably well-leavened, with traditional options alongside enough variety that no one at the table is left negotiating. Good beer selection, friendly service, and a spot that locals in this Ionian coast town seem to treat as a given.

Neapolitan pizza planted firmly in Oltrepò Pavese wine country, which is either a bold statement or proof that great dough travels. This is a classic sit-down pizzeria where the chef's obsession runs to certified regional ingredients and long-fermented, easy-on-the-stomach crusts. The room is warm and the service knows the menu cold. A 50 Top Pizza Italy recognition for excellent pizzerias puts it on the map for the pilgrimage crowd.

Roman-style thin and crispy pizza in the mountain town of Rocca di Mezzo, where the Roman tourists apparently follow their dough north on holiday. The name translates roughly to "cruncher," which tells you what to expect from the crust. The chef brings serious kitchen credentials alongside the leavening work, the fried starters each come with their own distinct breading, and the meal ends with maritozzi and brioche. A casual, friendly room that takes its wheat sourcing quietly seriously.

The menu announces that pizza has no owners, no masters, and belongs to the people, which sets the tone immediately. This is a Neapolitan pizza spot, one of three Bologna locations, with classic and creative pies, a short beer list, and traditional southern desserts. Reservations aren't taken, so a wait is part of the deal. There's a small terrace if the noise inside gets to you, and the bill won't get to you either.

A Neapolitan pizza spot in Volla where the crust stays slim and the cornicione knows when to stop. The menu pulls in Campania with a Sicilian detour, so the fried arancina land alongside the pizza, not as an afterthought. The room is spacious and modern, and the family running it treats the place like it matters, which it turns out it does. Listed in 50 Top Pizza Italy's Excellent Pizzerias.

A neighborhood pizzeria in the San Donato area where locals and dedicated pizza people share tables without much fuss. The Neapolitan dough is made with care, the ingredients sourced with the kind of seriousness that tends to go unannounced. A chalkboard lists monthly specials alongside fried options like montanara and calzone, focaccias, and panuozzi. The homemade pastiera is the kind of dessert that makes you stay longer than planned.

Fried starters arrive before the pizza at this old-school Neapolitan pizzeria in Materdei, which is exactly the order things should go. The menu runs on classics, with a marinara that gets a quiet addition of cheese that somehow makes it taste more like itself. Save room for the strips of fried dough with cream, a house signature that regulars treat as non-negotiable. The staff moves fast and means it.

The oven is visible from the dining room, which tells you where the priorities are. Strabordo is a contemporary Neapolitan-style pizzeria sitting at the far edge of Salerno province, practically at the Basilicata border, and the dough shows the soft, airy crust that style demands. Seasonal local ingredients get serious attention, and the fried things, especially the croquettes, are not an afterthought. The room is bright and modern, the kind of place that knows exactly what it is.

The name comes from a Cilento dialect word for homemade tomato extract, which tells you everything about where this pizzeria's loyalties lie. Tomatoes run through the whole menu, from the appetizers to the pies, with the local Cilentana topping hers with cooked sauce and goat cacioricotta. The crust spreads thin and wide, leaning crispy, and lands lighter than it looks. The room is bright and a little colorful, the oven is in plain sight, and the service is warm without being fussy.

Sitting on Campo del Ghetto Nuovo, this pizza restaurant opened recently with a specific idea: fold classic Venetian dishes into the pie. Risi e bisi, cuttlefish in their ink, tiny lagoon shrimp, all reimagined as toppings, which sounds like it shouldn't work until it does. Hundreds of wine bottles line the walls, the list is serious, and the staff actually knows it. A genuinely new concept for Venice, where new concepts are rare.

A proper sit-down pizzeria in the Fuorigrotta neighborhood, where the dining room is dressed up enough that you'll notice, and the frittatas come out before the pizza does, crispy and worth ordering. The dough is Neapolitan, lighter than it looks, and the chef has a habit of wandering out to chat with tables, which keeps things from feeling too formal. Ranked on 50 Top Pizza Italy.

A pizzeria in the Agrigento hinterland where the dough itself is the project, offered in classic, steamed, fried, and gluten-free versions through long fermentations the chef takes seriously enough to make a point of. Local oils and Slow Food ingredients anchor the toppings, and the Cuddriruni nods to the regional tradition. The wine and beer list is well put together, and the service is the kind that doesn't make you feel like a table to be turned.

A Neapolitan pizza spot on the Civitavecchia waterfront, with harbor views that make waiting for a table feel like a reasonable life choice. The wood-fired oven is front and center, turning out soft, light pies with that tell-tale puffy crust. The lingotto cacio e pepe, fried to a crackly shell, takes a hard left from the pizza menu and lands well. Staff are the kind that notice when your glass is empty.

A Neapolitan pizzeria that landed in Turin's lively San Salvario neighborhood and didn't bother to adjust the decor, the dialect, or the attitude. The walls are covered in photos from Naples, the menu is short enough to read before your water arrives, and the high-edge pizza comes with a puffy crust that makes a decent argument all on its own. The dough is light, the service is quick and informal, and the bill tends to cause a small pleasant shock.

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.

Frescoed vaults and Liberty wood paneling in a sixteenth-century palazzo: not the usual backdrop for a pizza dinner. This is a pizzeria on Piazza Rondanini, and the wine list skews Michelin-level, which tells you something about how seriously the team takes the whole operation. The room is genuinely grand, which makes the brevity of a pizza meal feel almost rude to the architecture.