The Best Places to Eat and Do in Italy

A humble two-group espresso machine anchors one corner of this neighborhood bar-cafe, while the rest belongs to the bakery. Far from the tourist drag near Palermo's train station, it pulls nonnas and taxi drivers for arancini at lunch and a standing espresso at the counter. Local roasters fill the hoppers alongside guest roasters, and the full specialty menu runs flat whites to cold brew. Old-school institution, no airs about it.

A weathered brass 20kg roaster dominates the back of this old-school Palermo coffee shop, which has been grinding away in a narrow alley of the historic quarter for as long as anyone can remember. The retail side stocks beans from Hawaii to Colombian rum co-ferments alongside moka pots and hazelnut spread, while next door the standing-room sister café handles cappuccinos, granita, and brioche. One counter serves everyone from espresso purists to the lighter-roast curious.

A four-generation Sicilian roaster that claims to be Palermo's first true specialty coffee shop, with the Lab outpost sitting inside the Palermo Yacht Club right on the harbor. Getting there means winding past longshoremen's warehouses, which only makes the swank patio payoff stranger and better. A Modbar gleams behind the quartz counter, French and Italian pastries arrive on stained wooden boards, and a cocktail bar waits across the room if the cortado isn't cutting it.

A standing-room coffee shop tucked off the square at Colonna dell'Immaculata, Vago Rizzuto runs an unusually long menu for a cramped little room: shakeratos, V60 pour-overs, iced oat milk lattes, and multiple espresso options sit alongside wine by the glass and local beer. The menu is written in English, which tells you everything about the crowd. Focaccia sandwiches and Italian pastries handle the food side, and there's an AeroPress off-menu if you know to ask.

On a pedestrian street in the Politeama-Libertà office district, this coffee shop pulls shots with local roaster Histo Caffè but keeps specialty options from Casper tucked behind the counter for those who ask. The young baristas speak English and will happily dial in a gently roasted Gesha for anyone not ready for Palermo's standard ristretto. Filter options, including Chemex and V60, are available too, which is quietly unusual for an espresso city.

The Alpini Bridge fills the window and the Brenta runs below, which is a pretty solid backdrop for a pizza place. This Bassano del Grappa pizzeria works several dough styles, from puffy Neapolitan to a thinner Venetian version, piling them with Southern Italian imports alongside local Asiago and cod. Desserts come with a nod to the local grappa tradition, and the wine list punches above its weight. Ranked in 50 Top Pizza Italy.

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.

A pizzeria in central Foggia where the doughs run light and the toppings are paired with the kind of deliberateness that earns the name "taste researchers." The room is compact and modern, the service quick, and they serve lunch, which in a city where pizza is mostly a night-out affair is a useful thing to know. Exactly the sort of neighbourhood spot that locals treat as a given and visitors quietly feel smug about finding.

Neapolitan pizza served inside the glass veranda of a grand seafront hotel, which sounds like a setup for disappointment but isn't. The dough gets a 48-hour rise, the crust comes out soft and properly billowy, and the toppings lean into the Ligurian coast around it. The room is elegant enough that you'll sit up a little straighter, and the service moves with the kind of quiet efficiency that makes a long lunch feel effortless.

A pizzeria a short walk from Matera's main drag, with a room that mixes contemporary touches and traditional details without looking like a mood board. The menu splits between classics and limited-edition pies, and the pairings are considered without tipping into fussiness. The staff keep things relaxed rather than performative, which is its own small mercy. Listed among Italy's excellent pizzerias by 50 Top Pizza.

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.

A pizzeria on the Calabrian coast where the dough gets a 36-hour rise before it sees any heat, which gives the Neapolitan-style crust a lightness that tends to make people pause mid-slice. The menu splits into traditional, special, and margherita categories, but the local options are where things get interesting, pulling in 'nduja, peperone crusco, and octopus marinated in cedar from the surrounding territory.

A pizzeria on Soverato's main piazza where the dough does the heavy lifting: light, contemporary, and handled with care. Round pies share the menu with Roman-style slices and single-portion pizzas built around toppings chosen to match each format. The fried montanarine are worth ordering separately. Draft beers and cocktails round things out, and the staff are the kind who make you feel like they remembered you from last time.

Abate takes your reservation seriously before you've even walked in, which sets the tone for everything that follows. It's a pizzeria in the Abruzzo hills, leaning into local tradition with regional antipasti before the main event. The dough comes in three forms, including a double-baked seed focaccia, and each one is notably light without feeling austere. The combinations stay honest rather than clever, which turns out to be the point.

A Neapolitan-style pizzeria tucked under an ancient portico in central Ferrara, where writing in Campanian dialect covers the walls and two ovens handle both traditional and gluten-free pies. The chef came up from Salerno and the dough shows it, long-leavened and properly puffy. Seating spills across two floors in a room that feels more southern Italy than northern. The "ruoto" pan pizzas, rooted in rural Campanian tradition, are worth the short walk from wherever you managed to park.

A 48-hour ferment and a wood-fired oven are the baseline here, and the crust comes out high and airy in a way that makes you notice. Agape sits on the waterfront at Cetraro Marina and has become a go-to for contemporary pizza along this stretch of Calabria. The menu leans into local ingredients with some care, and the fried dishes draw their own following alongside the pies.

The panuozzo is the point here, a stuffed bread from nearby Gragnano that the kitchen treats as a shared centerpiece rather than an afterthought. This is a multi-generation pizzeria in Angri, and the third generation has leaned into leavening and crunch in a way that feels current without abandoning the house roots. Round pizzas are on offer too, and the service moves at a clip. Parking fifty meters away, right off the Naples-Salerno highway exit, which tells you something about the crowd.

A wood-fired pizza spot tucked into central Trieste, Al Civicosei builds its dough from organic type 1 flour, with whole wheat and multigrain options for the conscientious. The wine list leans heavily regional, craft beers fill the gaps, and grappa closes things out, which means this is a pizza place that takes the drinking seriously too. Desserts come from Sal De Riso, so someone here knows when to outsource.

A sourdough-forward pizzeria in the center of Gorizia that bridges Campanian tradition and Friulian pantry, so you might find speck from Sauris sitting next to fiordilatte on the same pie. The room is spacious with a veranda and garden, which helps on a warm evening. The menu includes a gluten-free option, and the kitchen takes its fillings seriously enough that the sourcing does most of the talking.

A pizzeria that arrived in this quiet Friulian town carrying the DNA of Vico Equense, on the Sorrento Coast. The dough gets a 48-hour rest before it sees any heat, and the toppings lean toward the considered end: red shrimp from Mazara, seasonal Rosa di Gorizia radicchio, a creamy burrata pizza alongside the classics. A veranda and garden keep things unhurried. On the 50 Top Pizza Italy list of Excellent Pizzerias.

A family-run pizzeria near the Adige river, named for the chef's grandmother and set in the kind of countryside you only reach on purpose. The dough is taken seriously here, not as a selling point but seemingly as a matter of principle, with classic round pies alongside more inventive stuffed and shovel-baked versions. Quiet, unhurried, and a long way from anywhere fashionable, which turns out to suit the food perfectly.

A former tobacco-drying shed at the north edge of Abano Terme, now a pizzeria with high ceilings, open space, and a wood-fired oven doing serious work. The dough runs in several directions: traditional biga, whole wheat, burnt wheat, and contemporary Neapolitan, all landing crispy and light. Tables fill fast, which tells you something about how the price sits relative to what arrives. The outdoor areas help with overflow.

A pizzeria steps from the Adriatic shore, named directly after the chef, which sets a certain tone. Three ovens and three cooking methods, double-baked, pan, and contemporary Neapolitan, give the menu more range than the beachside setting might suggest. The house Finarella style is its own thing. The wine list runs deeper than you'd expect, including international sparkling bottles that regulars take seriously. Spacious enough for a whole group to pile in without planning.

A family pizzeria in Udine that's been around forever, now run by a second generation: one sibling in the kitchen, one working the room. The dough is a house blend of white and whole-wheat flour, and the menu stays deliberately short, leaning on seasonal ingredients and real sourcing. The Margherita variations are the thing to order, and the eight-topping Lampara pizza carries a cheerful, unironic 1980s energy. Friulian wines and craft beers round things out.

A pizza boutique in Andria where there's no menu to deliberate over, just a chef-driven tasting format that moves with the seasons. The doughs are long-fermented and light, and the toppings lean toward combinations you wouldn't have thought to order but wouldn't argue with afterward. Wine pairings are taken seriously here, which sets the room apart from your average slice situation. It ranked 85th on 50 Top Pizza Italy.

A high, cloud-soft crust is the signature move at this contemporary Neapolitan pizza spot a short walk from the main square in Civitanova Marche. The room is clean and bright with proper restaurant seating, none of that fold-up-chair energy. Classic pies sit alongside reworked versions, and the toppings lean on ingredients sourced from Southern Italy. Friendly, unhurried service rounds it out.

A Neapolitan-born pizzaiolo running a bright, renovated pizzeria on the Via Appia Nuova, with a summer veranda that fills up fast. The dough is the light, elastic kind that serious pizza people argue about, and alongside the classics, fried pizzas, and calzones, the kitchen slides in seasonal dishes and old Neapolitan recipes that have no business being this good this far from Naples.

A small, two-level pizzeria in Pompeii where the chef came home and put his own name above the door. The draw is dough as a moving target: he rotates through the ruoto style, classic Neapolitan, and reverse-scorched variations, treating each visit as a quiet demonstration of technique. Covers are few, service runs unhurried, and the beverage list is modest. Go for the crust, not the wine list.

A pizza place in Roseto degli Abruzzi where the first real decision of the night is which style of pizza you want, not what to put on it. High-crust Neapolitan, pan, Roman paddle, they're all on the menu, built on a blend of type 1 and wholemeal flours. The kitchen pairs bold flavors with enough precision that anchovies and lime on the same pie reads as a plan, not an accident. Save room for the dessert that looks like a margherita.

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.

A pizza spot in Busto Arsizio where the menu includes a short story behind each pie, which is either charming or a lot, depending on your mood. The move here is the double-cooked pizzas, fried then baked, a technique that earns its own sentence. The room is modern and tidy, the staff walks you through daily specials, and a solid wine list and craft beers round things out. Named among Italy's excellent pizzerias by 50 Top Pizza.

A small, cozy pizzeria near Piazza Amedeo where the menu stays short and the dough stays traditional Neapolitan. The kitchen leans into classics and follows the seasons, with rutiello-style pizzas that taste like someone's grandmother made them, which in Naples is about the highest compliment the room can offer. Fried starters follow the same unhurried logic. Service is informal but not careless, and the prices won't require a conversation with your bank.

A Neapolitan-style pizzeria that's been around forever, sitting right on the Gaeta waterfront with a gulf view that does a lot of heavy lifting before the food even arrives. The dough is the traditional kind, high and well-leavened, and the menu runs from old classics to more inventive combinations alongside solid fish dishes. The bill lands somewhere around what you'd expect for a harbourfront table with a view like that.

A neighborhood pizzeria in Bagnoli where the fried starters arrive before you've settled in, which sets the tone nicely. The dough is classically Neapolitan, the service moves fast and means it, and the room is small enough that the whole operation feels personal. One pizza on the menu leans into crispy sausage, pecorino fondue, lemon zest, and caramelized onions, and the combination is less chaotic than it sounds.

The oregano is crushed by hand, which tells you something about how seriously this family-run pizzeria in Vigonza takes its craft. Franco Barbato has been making Neapolitan-style pies since he was a teenager, and the room still carries that pleasantly faded charm that no interior designer could fake. The marinara and buffalo mozzarella Verace are the heart of it, though the sausage and friarielli is the one to order if it's on.

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.

A Neapolitan-style pizzeria in the Esquilino neighborhood, Ardecore fills colorful, comfortable rooms with the kind of crowds who come for the fried starters as much as the pies. The dough follows a thin-base, soft-crust tradition, and the toppings lean hard on sourced Irpinian products, including soppressata, Carmasciano pecorino, and cave-aged Calitrano provolone. The menu runs red pizzas, white pizzas, and montanare, all landing light enough that a second round feels reasonable.

A modern pizza spot in Formia where fermentation is taken seriously enough that the dough gets its own moment of quiet contemplation before it becomes your dinner. The open oven anchors a room that feels youthful and deliberate, and the menu leans into unusual ingredient pairings without tipping into novelty for its own sake. The staff walks you through it all with genuine enthusiasm rather than performance.

A colorful, spacious Neapolitan pizza spot in Casale Monferrato's historic center, where the dough gets a long, careful rise before hitting the oven. The pizzaiolo behind it grew up on Campanian tradition and takes toppings seriously, sourcing less obvious ingredients like Pomodoro Corbarino. Desserts come straight from the Campania playbook too. It's on the 50 Top Pizza Italy list of excellent pizzerias, which gives you a sense of how the locals feel about it.

A pizzeria carved into the rock of the Sassi, in a space that was once a communal bread oven, which gives the whole thing a pleasing sense of continuity. The dough is a seven-grain blend with sesame and sunflower seeds, dark and aromatic in a way that upstages most toppings. The ingredients lean local, the service is switched-on, and the room manages to feel both ancient and genuinely comfortable.

The crust edge here rises higher than you'd expect, which turns out to be the whole point. This is a pizza shop in Ancona where the chef has built his menu almost entirely around Marche ingredients: spreadable ciauscolo salami, cave-aged cheese, wild coastal greens, sausage made with Verdicchio. The cranci, crispy high-hydration slices cooked low and slow, are their own argument for the trip. Desserts are homemade and apparently not an afterthought.

A pizzeria steps from the Piramide metro stop, built around a dough that splits the difference between Roman and Neapolitan: thin and crispy through the middle, with a crust that actually has some height to it. The wooden-furnished room leans rustic and unhurried. The supplì and the house croutons with creative toppings are the kind of starters that make you forget a pizza is coming. Good beer list, friendly service.

The place still has no sign out front, which either says something about confidence or about the family that built it on a Renault 4 delivery route. Balobino is a pizza restaurant in Lendinara, minimal and quiet, where the dough is taken as seriously as a religion and the crust aims for something the menu calls cloud-like. Natural wines and beers chosen with the same fussiness as the flour. It made 50 Top Pizza Italy's Excellent Pizzerias list.

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.

Exposed stone walls inside what used to be a barn give this Molise pizza spot a warmth that no amount of interior design money quite replicates. The pies lean hard into the region's Sannio heritage, with a crust built from a mix of local grains that smells faintly of something you can't place but keep chasing. The staff runs the room like people who chose hospitality on purpose, which is rarer than it sounds.

A country inn and pizzeria in a small Friulian village, Baschera has been around forever and still feels like a family is actually running it, because one is. The dough is long-leavened, the flours are organic, and the thin, fragrant pizzas lean on local dairy and regional flavors rather than chasing trends. Wednesday nights bring a Neapolitan version with a taller, softer crust, which is either a nice change of pace or a minor scandal, depending on who you ask.

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.

A Neapolitan pizzeria that landed in Trento and apparently never left, Bella 'mbriana turns out the high, pillowy, charred-edged crust that people from Naples will either nod at or argue about. The dough is airy, the toppings are fresh, and the menu runs from straightforward classics to combinations that require slightly more explaining. The room is warm, the staff is attentive, and a table on a Friday night requires a reservation made earlier than you'd think.

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.

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.

Neapolitan pizza a short walk from the Rialto, served in a room that opens onto a courtyard with a square beyond it, which is as good as Venice gets for lunch. The dough is long-leavened and pillowy, and the team leans into local produce, lagoon vegetables and Sant'Erasmo artichoke alongside the occasional mainland import. It draws a steady mix of Italians and visitors who found it without too much trouble from the train station.

A contemporary Neapolitan-style pizzeria tucked into an unremarkable street on the outskirts of a small Adriatic town, which sets expectations low in a way the kitchen clearly enjoys defying. The doughs are soft and well-matured, the crusts generous without being theatrical, and the menu balances classics with the occasional creative detour that doesn't overcorrect. Service is young and quick, the room informal but tidy. Listed among 50 Top Pizza Italy's Excellent Pizzerias.

A pizzeria in the historic center of Capaccio Paestum, where the dough is made with ancient grain flours and given a long, slow fermentation before it sees any heat. The signature move is the Farruoto, a wheel-shaped pizza built on spelt flour dough. There's an outdoor terrace in summer, a dedicated dessert menu that people take seriously, and a wine and beer list chosen to match. Named on 50 Top Pizza Italy's Excellent Pizzerias list.

A light, well-leavened dough is the whole argument at this pizzeria in the old center of Tempio Pausania, where the menu runs from straight classics to more composed, ingredient-led combinations. The room works as well inside as out, and the outdoor tables fill up fast on summer evenings, so booking ahead is a reasonable idea. It has earned a spot on the 50 Top Pizza Italy list of Excellent Pizzerias.

A small, color-splashed wood-fired pizza shop in Cardito where the menu splits three ways: classics done straight, creative pies shaped by the chef's time in fine-dining kitchens, and padellini, the pan-baked house pride with soft, airy crusts and fresh toppings. Book ahead, the room is intimate. Fried Neapolitan standards, Campanian wines, and homemade desserts round things out. Leave room, as the staff will apparently remind you.

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.

Brama treats pizza as a design problem, running doughs through water kefir, sourdough, and spontaneous fermentation until they land somewhere lighter than you expected. The result covers a lot of ground: crispy round pies, small skillets, Roman paddles, each with its own texture and leavening. Toppings lean on seasonal produce and small producers. The room looks the part, the wine and beer list is short but considered, and 50 Top Pizza has taken notice.

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.

A thin, crispy Roman-style pizza is the whole point at this elegant pizzeria in the Prati neighborhood, a short walk from Lepanto metro. The menu leans into Roman tradition, with toppings like artichoke white pizza and a carbonara-inspired pie that somehow doesn't feel like a gimmick. A decent wine list and cocktail selection keep things interesting beyond the dough. The room is relaxed and the service moves quickly without feeling rushed.

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.

A pizzeria in Mosciano Sant'Angelo where the name is half pun, half tribute: Peppe is the owner, cacio is the obsession. The dough runs high-hydration and long-fermented, so the crust comes out light enough to make you suspicious. The menu moves between white, red, and gourmet pies, with Abruzzo specialties and first courses rounding things out for anyone who arrived with company that doesn't share the pizza fixation.

Cagliostro sits on Palermo's main drag, where the nightlife hums and the pizza comes in forms you didn't necessarily expect to choose between. This pizzeria from the Sciarrino brothers runs through styles from padellino to fried to a crackerish super-crispy round, all leaning on seasonal ingredients. The staff keeps the floor professional without stiffening it up, and the desserts are worth leaving room for.

A high, pillowy Neapolitan crust is what the Palumbo family has been turning out from this central Udine pizzeria for years. The menu runs the classics you'd expect, marinara to capricciosa, alongside Roman-style pinse for anyone feeling contrary. After dinner, the amaro list stretches into Friulian grappa territory, which is either a bonus or a warning depending on your morning plans.

Outdoor tables sit directly beneath the arch of Porta San Gennaro, one of Naples' old city gates, which is either the most atmospheric pizza patio in the neighborhood or proof that Neapolitans never needed a reason to eat outside. The menu runs the classic lineup, margherita, marinara, provola and pepper, baked stuffed pizza, fried pizza, all at prices that won't require a quiet moment with your wallet afterward. Staff keeps things moving.

A pizzeria in Palma Campania that takes its dough seriously enough to offer several versions of it, from traditional round pies to pizza in pala to double-cooked crusts with real structural ambition. The fried starters hold their own alongside the pizzas, and the ingredients read as chosen rather than just sourced. The room is clean and modern with outdoor seating, the staff pays attention, and the bill won't cause a scene.

Tucked behind Amalfi's cathedral, away from the selfie-stick scrum on the main square, this pizza restaurant lines its walls with Vietri ceramics and keeps the mood warm and casual. The contemporary pizzas are light enough to not haunt you on the drive back along the coast road, and the menu leans into Campanian produce, cold cuts, and fried snacks. The wine list covers Campanian classics and pours by the glass.

A Neapolitan-style pizzeria in Aversa where the menu is organized around the dough itself: canotto, direct, 48-hour, gluten-free. The kitchen keeps its browning even and its crust soft inside with a crunch at the rim, which is either obvious or surprisingly rare depending on how many bad pizzas you've eaten lately. Fried starters come out dry and crisp, and the beer list gets more attention than most. Ranked on 50 Top Pizza Italy.

A wood-burning oven visible from the dining room sets the tone at this pizza shop tucked down a side street near the Central Station. The room is compact and unpretentious, with simple furnishings that nod to an older Naples. The dough is soft and well-hydrated, the fried offerings short in number but careful in execution. Regulars who know what they want skip the photographic menu entirely, though it's a nice touch.

The dough ferments for 48 hours before it ever sees a oven, which is the whole philosophy at this small, earnest pizza shop in Milan. Three styles are on offer: the classic ruota di carro, a contemporary version, and a pan pizza made with multigrain dough laced with bitter cocoa and coffee. A different vegan option rotates monthly, and the house desserts, including a riff on Key Lime Pie, are quietly serious about their job.

A pizzeria set inside a historic palazzo in Torre Annunziata, the whole room given over to Totò memorabilia as a tribute to the film that gave the place its name. The menu leans Neapolitan across several styles, with a light dough and generous toppings. The fried starters are worth ordering, especially the Chiò chiò, a small omelette shaped as a nod to the great comedian. Dinner in the garden, if weather allows, is the obvious move.

A dough built from type 0, wholemeal, and wheat germ flours gives the pizzas here a crispness and lightness that quietly sidesteps the pillowy Neapolitan orthodoxy everyone else seems to be chasing. This is a casual, neighbourhood pizzeria in Potenza with an informal, young energy and a menu rooted in Lucanian identity. The fried starters are worth the detour, and the craft beer selection leans local. Named among Italy's excellent pizzerias by 50 Top Pizza.

Dough made from local Abruzzo flours gives the pizza here a lightness that holds up across a menu that swings from classic to gently ambitious gourmet toppings. This is a proper sit-down pizzeria with over 200 seats, a young floor team that keeps things moving, and a terrace that fills out when the weather cooperates. Ingredients lean heavily local, and the sourcing shows. It made the 50 Top Pizza Italy Excellent Pizzerias list.

A pizzeria tucked among greenery in a quiet corner of the Veneto, where the dough goes through a long, slow rise and sometimes a double cook, fried then baked, before it lands on the table. The chef pairs bacalà alla vicentina with pizza like it's an obvious idea, which it isn't, and somehow pulls it off. Locally sourced ingredients throughout, and a roster of toppings that dares without losing the thread.

A cocktail bar and pizzeria in Senigallia where the drinks program is treated as seriously as the dough, which comes in three styles plus a gluten-free option. The pizza chef works with heritage grains like Ottofile corn and monococcum spelt, and the fried starters get the same careful attention. It's the kind of place where the bartender and the pizza chef are genuinely in conversation, rather than operating in separate universes on the same menu.

A pizza spot in Broni that names its tuna pie "Don't cry, Tuna soon!" and commits to that energy throughout. The room is modern and informal, bold colors against clean lines, and the menu leans into contemporary pizza with a serious eye on sourcing. Traditional desserts and a solid wine and cocktail list round things out, and the staff seem to have genuinely been briefed on hospitality, which in this context is worth noting.

The oven is right there at the entrance, so you know exactly what you're walking into. This is a pizza spot in the center of Praia a Mare, where a 24-hour dough produces a soft, fragrant crust topped with Maratea sausage and Calabrian broccoli. The small fried pizzas in carbonara and Nerano styles are worth the detour on their own. Service moves fast, the outdoor space fills up, and a reservation is a reasonable idea.

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.

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.

The oven is visible from the dining room, which at a Neapolitan pizza spot is either a statement of confidence or an open invitation to stare. This is a family-run pizzeria carrying a name with deep roots in Neapolitan pizza culture, and the room stays warm without becoming performative about it. The classics hold up, and a wider menu of regionally inspired toppings gives regulars a reason to keep exploring.

A pizzeria in Emilia Romagna built around a social mission, where young people with disabilities and survivors of bullying make up the team, and where the pizza itself is the thing that keeps people coming back. The crust runs high and crisps nicely, and the panuozzo from Romagna and the pinsa round out a menu that takes the food as seriously as the cause. The staff greets you like they mean it.

Claudio Alvicolo is a pizza restaurant tucked into Orvieto's old town, where the chef rotates through different doughs, flour blends, and cooking methods with the zeal of someone who has a lot of opinions about fermentation. Tray pizzas, pan varieties, and Roman-style cuts move through the room alongside a thoughtful beer and wine list built around pairings. A spot on 50 Top Pizza Italy suggests the obsession is pointing in the right direction.

The signature move here is pizza baked and served in a clay pot, which keeps everything molten and fragrant down to the final slice. This is a no-frills pizzeria in a small Trentino village, the kind that locals use as a benchmark rather than a destination. The dough is light, the crust blistered, and the toppings do not feel diluted by the cooking. Exactly the sort of place where nobody needs the menu after the second visit.

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.

A cocktail bar and Neapolitan pizzeria sharing the same room in the main piazza, which sounds like it shouldn't work but mostly does. The dough runs through a 48-hour rise, landing crispy at the edge and soft through the middle, with toppings that lean into regional Marche ingredients. Tasting menus are on offer for those who want the full tour. The room is modern and polished, and the staff seem to actually enjoy being there.

The dough gets 72 hours to think things over before a pizza here, and you can taste the patience. This is a sit-down pizzeria that takes its toppings seriously, sourcing Culatello di Zibello and Mazara del Vallo prawns for a room that could easily get away with less. Beyond pizza, small plates and a thoughtful Italian-French wine list round things out. Attentive service without the hover.

Cortile Siciliano is a pizzeria tucked down a small side street in Tremestieri Etneo, where the local style means a low, crackery crust rather than the pillowy domes you'd get elsewhere. Three doughs, classic, rustic, and charcoal, each pair with particular pies, though the kitchen will mix and match on request. The wine list reaches from Sicily to France and pours by the glass via Coravin, which is a little more serious than a pizzeria usually bothers to be.

Crosta spends its days as a bread and pastry shop, then pivots at night into a pizza spot where round pies arrive pre-sliced on the plate. The two-room space feels like a cozy bakery that never quite changed out of its daytime clothes, which suits the informal mood perfectly. Doughs lean light, toppings range from classic to quietly inventive, and the wine list is short enough that you won't agonize over it.

The name is not accidental: the dough here snaps under your teeth in a way that makes ordering a second pizza feel like a reasonable decision. This is a pizzeria in Catanzaro with a menu that runs from respectful classics to bolder gourmet combinations, plus Roman-style thin-crust and a spread of fried starters. The sourcing is taken seriously, and the result is a lighter-than-expected pie. It appears in 50 Top Pizza Italy's Excellent Pizzerias listing.

A contemporary pizzeria a short walk from the center of San Benedetto del Tronto, Crunch keeps the look pop and the menu restless, with classic pies alongside odder, reimagined ones and a double-cooking technique that actually changes what arrives at the table. Fried starters and desserts fill out the card. The service is the kind that notices you without hovering, which is rarer than it should be.

A Roman-style pizza spot in Talenti where the menu is organized by intensity levels, which is either very logical or a little extra depending on your mood. The crust is thin and crispy without turning to crackers under the toppings, and the fried starters come out properly dry and greaseless. A reimagined amatriciana sits alongside more elaborate combinations, with solid vegetarian options throughout. The room reads new-generation pizzeria in all the ways you'd expect.

A pizza shop in central Turin sitting in the literal shadow of the Mole Antonelliana, which is a lot of pressure for any dough. The slices come pre-cut, partly for convenience and partly so toppings don't slide off the more elaborate combinations. The bases use long-leavened semi-wholemeal flour, or versions with charcoal, hemp, or ancient grains. Craft beers round things out, and the whole setup is casual enough that you can eat standing without feeling like you're doing it wrong.

Three dough styles under one roof: the classic Neapolitan round with a high puffed crust, Roman tray pizza sliced thin, and the house "Fa Crock," crispy outside and pillowy within. This is a serious pizza shop in a small Veneto town, run by a Campanian heart, so the fried starters, montanare, supplì, and mozzarella in carrozza, arrive as family tradition rather than afterthought. Toppings roam from Venetian asparagus to Calabrian 'nduja. The beer list comes with pairing notes, which few pizza places bother.

A pizza restaurant on one of San Giovanni Rotondo's main streets, with a comfortable terrace and a polished interior that suggests the kitchen takes itself seriously. The fritti arrive first, crispy and well-seasoned, a warm-up act that earns its place. Pizzas run both thin-crust and Neapolitan-style, the dough airy and properly blistered at the edges. It ranked among 50 Top Pizza Italy's top hundred, which in Puglia is saying something.

The wood-burning oven hits you before you're through the door, filling the whole room with that particular smoky warmth that takes decades to build into a place. Da Attilio is an old-school Neapolitan pizzeria rooted in the Pignasecca market neighborhood, and it wears that identity without effort. The menu runs from dead-classic pies to slightly more contemporary ones, and the staff moves fast without ever making you feel like furniture to be cleared.

A pizza dedicated to the Calabrian onion sounds like a narrow brief, but it tells you everything about how this pizzeria in central Tropea operates. Contemporary Neapolitan-style pies anchor the menu, with local appetizers and pitte rounding out a spread that leans hard into regional ingredients. The room has the feel of somewhere the owner genuinely cares about, which in Tropea is either a given or a small miracle, depending on your luck.

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.

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.

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.

A pizzeria set among old mills and caves in the center of Modica, where the chef hands each table playing-card-style cards explaining the pizzas before you order. The dough gets a long ferment with wheat germ, and the pies come round, steamed, fried, or oven-dried depending on his mood and yours. It ranks on 50 Top Pizza Italy, which tracks for a place this serious about flour. The wine and beer list holds its own too.