The Best Places in Italy

The Zivieri family raises animals and grows produce in the Apennines, then drives it all down to Bologna and cooks it for you inside a medieval tower off Piazza della Mercanzia. It's a regional trattoria where the charcuterie and grilled meats are essentially the point, made from animals the same family farms. A butcher's counter next door sells the same stuff to take home, which feels either convenient or dangerous depending on your willpower.

An old farmhouse in Tisens, barn and stables folded into the dining room so the stone walls and timber feel less like decor than something that was always there. The kitchen runs a "Wine & Dine" concept, pairing South Tyrolean flavors with dishes that are clean rather than fussy. The wine cellar has been quietly accumulated over years and it shows. Service is the kind that doesn't need to announce itself.

Vaulted ceilings inside a grand old palazzo on Bolzano's main piazza set the stage for a restaurant that runs two distinct modes under one roof. Lunch leans casual and regional, riffing on South Tyrolean flavors with a lighter touch, while the gilded back dining room is where the chef gets serious, offering a full gastronomic tasting experience. Dressing up is not required, but the gilded room will make you wish you had.

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.

A pizzeria sitting a thousand meters above sea level on the border of Campania and Basilicata, where the kitchen forages the surrounding hills, ages its own cheeses in on-site caves, and grows vegetables in a high-altitude garden. The wood-and-stone dining room feels rooted in its landscape, and the panoramic terrace makes the drive up feel obvious in retrospect. Ranked in the 50 Top Pizza Italy and World lists.

A former match factory in Este is now a pizzeria with a garden, which is exactly the kind of origin story that sounds invented but isn't. The chef runs three styles of pizza, wood-fired classics, tasting pies in a contemporary style, and thin Roman rounds, with vegetables and ingredients pulled largely from small local producers. Ranked in the 50 Top Pizza Italy and World lists, it earns a Forno Verde special award for its green sourcing focus.

A restored stone farmhouse in Cilento, with its own mill on-site and a vegetable garden just outside the door. The pizza here is built around the ammaccata, an old local flatbread tradition, made with ancient grains and kept deliberately simple so the ingredients can actually speak. The dough is light and fragrant, which sounds like a given until you eat one. It landed on 50 Top Pizza Italy, a ranking worth knowing.

A Roman-style pizza shop in Velletri where the crust is thin, crisp, and built on pre-fermented doughs and carefully chosen flours. The team fries well and takes the dough seriously, which shows in how the slices hold their structure without going rigid. It's a young operation that already draws a local following, and 50 Top Pizza named it Young Restaurant of the Year for Italy in 2026. The room is cheerful and unpretentious, and the staff seem to mean it.

A Roman-style pizzeria transplanted to Milan, where the thin, wide rounds come in at 160 grams of dough, light enough that a second slice feels less like a dare. The room is small and loud in that companionable way. Supplì are the move to start, and the wine list runs longer than you'd expect. It lands on the 50 Top Pizza Italy list, which tracks.

A pizza restaurant tucked into the Abruzzo hills where the dough is half the point, light and structured in a way that makes most other crusts feel like an afterthought. The chef, known as Giangi, treats a pie more like a composed dish, layering local ingredients with enough audacity to pull off a pizza that riffs on sushi without embarrassing itself. It ranks on both 50 Top Pizza Italy and 50 Top Pizza World. The wine list has grown up to match.

A pizzeria in the Venetian mainland that seats 300 people and still runs multiple shifts on weekends, which tells you something. The chef is self-taught and built his reputation on high-hydration sourdough, with San Marzano tomatoes and fiordilatte from Agerola keeping the sourcing honest. The seafood pizzas are the move, built around Sicilian anchovies, Scardovari mussels, and octopus. It placed on 50 Top Pizza Italy.

A pizza spot in Pontecagnano that splits its attention between classic rounds and pan-fried double-baked slices with seasonal toppings, which is a more interesting menu architecture than most places bother with. The team roots everything in Campanian ingredients while still pushing into creative combinations. The wine list leans heavily regional, and the beer runs mostly artisanal. It landed at number 37 on 50 Top Pizza Italy, if you want a benchmark.

The dough here gets talked about in serious pizza circles, and I Fontana has earned spots on both the 50 Top Pizza Italy and World lists to back that up. It's a Neapolitan pizza spot in Somma Vesuviana where the crust is airy and blistered, toppings lean on produce from the Vesuvian gardens, and the fried starters, croquettes, arancini, the works, are the kind of thing you order while pretending to study the menu.

The Falia, a tall, thick-crusted pizza from nearby Priverno served by the slice, tells you immediately where this pizzeria stands: deep in the ingredients and traditions of the surrounding territory. High-hydration doughs, local artisan producers, and fried starters that earn their place before the pizza even arrives. The wine list runs by the glass, the staff actually know it, and 50 Top Pizza Italy and the World list both took notice.

Franco Pepe's Neapolitan pizza spot sits in a small hilltop town that most tourists drive straight past, which suits the regulars fine. The dough is the point here: soft, well-leavened, and light enough that finishing a whole pizza feels less like an achievement than it should. Fried starters and seasonal toppings lean hard into Campania's pantry. The space is carefully designed, with an outdoor terrace split across two floors for tasting.

A contemporary gastronomic pizzeria in the Vomero neighborhood, where the dough work is treated with the seriousness of a kitchen brigade and toppings read more like composed dishes than what you'd expect on a round. The room is airy and modern, built to handle a crowd without feeling like a canteen. Craft beers, gluten-free options, and a dessert involving Vesuvian apricot and mozzarella that has no business working as well as it does.

A pizza spot in Sassari where the dough gets the kind of obsessive attention other restaurants reserve for the main course. The chef's study of flours and fermentation produces bases that are light but structured, and the menu moves between careful classics and more experimental pairings. Amuse-bouches open the meal and set the tone. The room is relaxed but considered, and the whole thing lands on 50 Top Pizza Italy's list.

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.

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.

A Neapolitan pizza spot in Messina with a longer reach than most: in summer the whole operation shifts to Blanco Beach Club on the Strait, where you eat with water views instead of walls. High-hydration doughs and long leavening are the kitchen's religion, with a pronounced crust alongside Roman-style and fried options. A second location near the Duomo adds a proper sit-down dining angle for those who want more than a slice.

A pizza restaurant in Aversa's main piazza where the classic dough does the talking: light, well-leavened, and staying crisp to the final crust. The room is dressed up more than most pizza spots, and the staff carries itself accordingly. Prices run higher than the neighborhood average, which the elegant setting makes feel reasonable. 50 Top Pizza Italy ranks it among its top forty in the country.

A Monteverde pizzeria that has been around forever without feeling like a museum piece, La Gatta Mangiona sits outside the usual Roman pizza camps and does things its own way. The dough is light and handled well, holding up under toppings that lean into stronger ingredients without losing balance. Evenings only, reservations a good idea, and a room that fills with people who have clearly been coming for years.

A Puglia-sourced pizzeria in central Varese where the dough is only the starting point. The chef builds tasting menus that move through sushi, pasta, and hot dogs, all anchored to pizza in ways that sound chaotic on paper and apparently work in practice. Burrata and stracciatella from Andria appear regularly, and the wine list leans Champagne. It landed on 50 Top Pizza Italy, which tracks.

A pizza restaurant on the island of Ischia, set inside a tuff-stone building where the terrace catches the sunset over the water. The menu moves well past the Neapolitan standard, offering several dough styles and the option of double cooking, with the kitchen showing a clear hand for balancing quality ingredients. The wine list pulls from a wide range of grapes and regions. Ranked in 50 Top Pizza Italy.

Hammocks, tribal masks, and enough bottles to stock a small nation line the walls of this legendary Milan cocktail bar on Viale Piave. Dario Comino has been quietly pioneering every technique in the cocktail world, from clarification to fermentation, since before most bars knew those words. Drinks here borrow from distant cultures while playing with texture in ways that tend to surprise even regulars who think they know the menu.

Roman-style pizza, done thin and crispy the way the city has always insisted it should be, anchors this relaxed pizza spot along the Tiber. The fried starters get as much attention as the pies, coming out fragrant and genuinely light, which is harder than it sounds. A solid list of sparkling wines makes the pairing case for itself. The room is informal and unhurried, the kind of place where the service moves fast enough that you never feel forgotten.

Colorful pizza triangles cover the walls of this bright, modern Roman pizzeria, which is built around the scrocchiarella, the thin, aggressively crisp style native to the city. The dough is featherlight and the crunch is the whole point. The menu wanders past the usual fritti into a broader spread of Italian small plates, and the pizzas run from classic to a little unexpected. It landed on the 50 Top Pizza Italy list, which tracks.

A pizzeria in Milan that imports Dolomite water for its dough, which is either obsessive or exactly the kind of detail that ends up mattering. Denis Lovatel's pies are thin and crispy, long-leavened, and noticeably light, topped with alpine cheeses and mountain herbs that make the menu feel like a hill station menu and not a city one. The wood-warmed room reinforces the altitude fantasy. 50 Top Pizza World ranked it among its top spots globally.

The menu at this rum bar in Marina di Ravenna's international port runs to 180 pages, part cocktail list, part coffee-table book on Haiti's distilleries. More than 2,200 bottles line the walls, and the 24 drinks range from Caribbean classics to inventive originals. It holds a Pinnacle Guide pin. Pack patience: a bar this devoted to sugarcane spirits is not a place for a quick one.

Roman-style pizza here means a rolling pin, not a toss, turning out thin, crisp rounds the way the neighborhood has always expected them. A Rota is a no-ceremony pizzeria in Tor Pignattara, sister spot to the trattoria next door, with a short menu of classic pies and a fried-foods list that reads like old Roman dialect. About fifteen pizzas, a seasonal special, and service that moves without making you feel rushed.

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.