The Best Places in Italy

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.

A pizzeria on Gela's seafront where the lighting is soft enough to make you feel the room was designed, not just furnished. The chef's Campanian roots anchor the menu, but the "Pizzas by Daniele" range roams through the ingredients of southern Italy in ways that go beyond the classic round. The dough gets serious attention, the olive oil selection is curated, and the service knows what it's talking about.

A pizza spot on the Nomentana that offers both Neapolitan and Roman styles under one roof, which sounds like hedging but here reads as genuine range. The dough is made using autolysis, a slow hydration technique that produces a crust light enough to keep the peace between the two camps. Start with the frittata, and leave room for the pistachio tiramisu, which earns its place at the end of the meal.

A pizzeria near the A18 highway exit that takes the format seriously enough to offer both Sicilian and Neapolitan styles under one roof, low-and-crispy alongside high-and-pillowy, without making a fuss about it. The menu organizes around the margherita and builds outward in honest increments. Croquettes are the move to start. The wine list leans local but ranges wider, and the staff actually know what's on it.

A pizzeria in Caserta where the meal opens with fried starters before the pizza arrives, light-doughed and topped with whatever the season is offering that week. The team runs a tight, well-organized room, and Maria handles the drinks list, stocking Campanian labels and craft beers with the same care her husband puts into the dough. It lands on the 50 Top Pizza Italy Excellent Pizzerias list, and on a given evening it's easy to see why.

A roomy, modern pizzeria just outside Umbertide's center, near the sports complex where parking is never a problem. The menu runs Neapolitan-style pies alongside appetizers, burgers, and a kids' menu, so it's built for a full table rather than a solo slice. The team moves quickly without making you feel rushed, which is harder than it sounds on a busy Friday.

A Neapolitan-style pizza spot in Casoria where the menu actually tells you what you're getting: sections labeled scrunchy, tradition, and innovation, each a different take on the dough. The kitchen leans contemporary, playing with toppings and presentation while keeping the southern Italian backbone intact. Staff are attentive without hovering, the room is clean and modern, and desserts hold up better than most pizza places bother with.

A pizza shop on Agropoli's port square where the menu runs from classic rounds to padellino and Quadrotti, the team's take on Roman-style paddle pizza. The dough is made with biga and rests at high hydration, landing somewhere noticeably light without fuss about it. The Cilento coast does the decorating through the window, and the philosophy in the kitchen is careful without being precious about it.

Parked near Piazza Duomo in Termoli's old town, this pizza spot builds its pies on soft, airy dough with a crust that gets some room to breathe. The toppings lean into the region, with organic and local ingredients combined in ways that are genuinely unexpected without being weird about it. The wine and spirits list gets real attention too, which isn't always a given at a pizzeria. Service is warm and unhurried.

A pizza spot tucked into a little square at the edge of the Amalfi Coast, decorated inside with the hand-painted ceramics Vietri sul Mare is famous for. The dough gets a long, slow rise, and the menu leans into the sea rather than the usual suspects, with pies built around local fish and a fair amount of imagination. The fried starters follow the same coastal logic and are worth ordering. In summer, the square fills in as a terrace.

A few steps from Salerno's waterfront, this pizzeria has a look more design hotel than neighborhood joint, and the pies match the ambition. The dough is stretched thin and cooked with precision, toppings leaning on regional tradition without getting precious about it. The pizza a rota 'e carretta is the old-school counter to all that polish, and the fried starters, eggplant meatballs especially, hold their own alongside anything with a crust.

Tucked between Barriera di Milano and Regio Parco, this Neapolitan pizza spot has been a reliable fixture in Turin for a while, and the dough is the reason. The team mills with monococcal spelt and multigrain flours that make the crust taste like something, not just a vehicle. Guests build their own pie from a long list of seasonal toppings, and sweet filled buns round out the menu for those who treat dessert as non-negotiable.

A pizza named after Sunday broth, filled with the scent of slow-cooked meat and vegetables and finished with a Parmesan crust, tells you what kind of pizzeria Don Crosta is: the kind where the menu has something to say. The space is modern and relaxed, with a terrace when the weather cooperates. Beyond the contemporary pies, there are focaccias, fried dishes, and a wine list that leans into Vesuvian labels.

A pizza restaurant in San Giovanni Lupatoto that takes its crust seriously enough to offer a dedicated sauce menu for dipping the leftovers, which says something about confidence. The interior leans industrial chic with soft lighting, giving it more metropolitan energy than the address might suggest. Toppings run from a straightforward Margherita to combinations involving gin tonic, and the kitchen makes everything fresh. Named on 50 Top Pizza Italy's Excellent Pizzerias list.

A pizzeria named for a date that matters to the chef, which tells you something about how personally he takes all of this. The menu runs from straightforward classics to more inventive combinations, with housemade appetizers, including croquettes and small fried montanaras, worth ordering before the pies arrive. The selection stays tight, which in practice means everything on it has earned its place.

A contemporary pizza spot in Rende where the dough is the whole argument: light, well hydrated, and sturdy enough to carry toppings that add without shouting. The menu moves between straightforward classics and more adventurous variations, and the craft beer list is the kind that rewards a second look. The room is modern and informal without feeling like a set piece, and the kitchen keeps pace even when the place fills up.

The crunchy Cosenza-style pizza is the reason to find this small pizzeria in Rende, where around thirty seats fill a room with a short, rotating menu of about fifteen pizzas built around a tight circle of named suppliers. The seasonal list changes, but the sourcing stays fixed. Doubles as a breakfast spot with proper leavened pastries and organic juice, which is either a charming detail or proof they take dough seriously at every hour.

A wood-fired oven faces the sea on Scalea's lungomare, and the dough here gets the long, careful leavening that makes Neapolitan-style pizza feel light rather than heavy. This is a straightforward pizzeria, the kind where the crust does the talking, with a fluffy cornicione, a well-balanced sauce, and a crisp underside. The fried pizza pulls its own weight too, in both the classic and the contemporary styles.

A mixologist turned pizzaiolo is a sentence that could go badly, but here it goes well. Elementi is a pizzeria in Caserta where the chef's background shows up in how flavors are layered, playing creaminess against crunch and acidity in ways that feel more considered than typical. Classic and creative pies share the menu alongside fried starters, and a dedicated tasting menu spotlights the local Terra di Lavoro region.

A small pizza spot in central Parma where the chef works with high-hydration, long-fermented dough in a style that doesn't answer to Naples. The crust sits at a moderate height, and toppings lean toward Campanian ingredients or pasta-sauce classics like carbonara, ragù, and amatriciana. Tables are close enough that you'll learn your neighbors' order. A newer "fried and deconstructed" menu has since joined the lineup.

A wood-fired oven visible from the street and a giant paddle on the sign announce what Era Ora is about before you've even pushed the door open. It's a pizza restaurant in Rende, the university town just outside Cosenza, and the menu meanders through fried snacks, salads, and pasta before arriving at the main event. The house pizza, topped with capocollo from a historic local salumeria, is a good place to land.

A pizza shop in a new space on Via Ruffilli, Fa' Tu is run by a team obsessed with fermentation and long leavening, which sounds technical until the crust arrives: light, fragrant, and clearly the point of the whole operation. The dough uses 100% Italian wheat at 70% hydration, and the toppings lean into Calabrian ingredients, 'nduja, Tropea onion, local pecorino, the kind of pantry a region spends centuries building.

A pizzeria in Potenza where the dough choices are genuinely the draw: the whole-grain multigrain arrives toasted and fragrant, while the tomato-water version produces a golden, lightly crisp crust that somehow still feels clean on the palate. The kitchen takes fermentation and hydration seriously without making you sit through a lecture about it. Fried starters are the right way to open, the service keeps everything moving, and the wine and beer list pairs sensibly with the rest.

Tucked into the backstreets of Chiavari, this pizzeria gives you a choice most places don't: a low, crispy crust or a high, pillowy one. Either way, the dough is worked for lightness rather than bulk, and the toppings lean on local Ligurian products rather than reach for novelty. The Margherita 44 is the one regulars keep ordering. Good craft beers and wines by the glass round out a room that's cozy without trying too hard.

A San Lorenzo pizza shop where the dough gets more attention than most people give their houseplants, fermented long enough that the menu leads with digestibility as a selling point. Three sizes run from a small aperitivo round up to a rolling-pin-pressed Spianata Romana, and the kitchen rotates a new pie each week. Craft beers and natural wines fill out the back half of the menu, and the room stays informal without getting sloppy.

A pizza and fry shop on Via Foria where the fried pizza is treated as seriously as the round kind. The menu leans hard into Neapolitan tradition, with fried doughs and classic toppings doing most of the talking. It sits near the Botanical Garden, a few stops from the city center, and draws the kind of crowd that knows exactly what they're ordering before they walk in. Prices stay well within reason.

A pizzeria in the old center of Cefalù where the menu reads like a master class in dough formats: classic rounds, pan-baked padellino, double-cooked, fried, and the pala flatbread added more recently. The crust stays light and crisp regardless of which style you order, which is harder than it sounds. About forty seats, contemporary room, and a drinks list that covers wine, beer, and cocktails if you want to match your pizza to something with a little ambition.

The pizza here is almost aggressively thin, a crisp, barely-there wafer with toppings kept minimal enough that nothing buckles it. It's a Roman-adjacent pizzeria in the Colli Albani neighborhood, done up in high ceilings and industrial bones that feel more like a design object than a neighborhood joint. The fried snacks are worth ordering alongside, and the wine list runs longer than you'd expect for a pizza dinner.

Neapolitan pizza on the shores of Lake Maggiore sounds like a punchline, but the room fills on weeknights anyway. This is a proper pizza spot doing fried pies and Margherita variations alongside Campanian desserts that suggest someone's nonna has opinions. The dough is the point, the ingredients are taken seriously, and the setting, tucked into a small village between beaches, makes the whole thing feel like a slightly improbable discovery.

A Roman pizzeria that splits its loyalties cleanly: thin and crispy Roman style on one side, high-crusted Neapolitan on the other, and no apparent anxiety about the contradiction. The dough is well matured and light, and the kitchen clearly thinks about what goes on top of it. The room is tidy and relaxed, the kind of place that works equally well for a quick weeknight dinner or a longer table with friends.

A Neapolitan-style pizzeria steps from Ponte Vecchio, which means the view over the Arno comes with the dough. The crust is light and the toppings run from the classics to a few creative detours worth exploring. Fried starters and croquettes round things out before the pizza arrives. Prices reflect the address, as they will anywhere this close to Florence's most photographed bridge, but the service moves fast enough that no one lingers guiltily.

The visible oven anchors the room at this Sardinian pizza restaurant, its stone walls and warm wood making the whole thing feel less like a dining room and more like somewhere a craftsman actually works. The doughs go through long natural fermentation with carefully sourced flours, and the toppings lean hard into local Sardinian ingredients. It landed on the 50 Top Pizza Italy list, which tells you the technique here is no accident.

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.

Outdoor tables overlooking the Ligurian sea, strings of lights multiplying across the water at night, and a wood-fired oven quietly tucked behind a partition as if it has nothing to prove. This is a pizzeria in San Terenzo doing soft, foldable, classically comforting pies without any of the theater that tends to follow a good wood-fired reputation around. The service keeps pace without fuss, which at a seaside spot on a warm evening is exactly the right instinct.

A wood-fired pizza spot in Alba where the oven runs from breakfast through last call, because leavened dough is the whole point here. You pick your crust, classic round or thin and crackery from the rolling pin, then load it with Piedmontese conviction: fassona beef vitello tonnato, Verduno sausage with gorgonzola. The wine list runs to champagne, which feels about right for a pizza place that takes itself exactly as seriously as it should.

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 Neapolitan pizzeria in Posillipo where the kitchen treats a plain margherita with the same seriousness as the more elaborate pies, letting good ingredients do the talking. The menu leans on tradition, the service runs smoothly, and the meal tends to end with a classic omelette and croquettes rather than the other way around, which is either charming or chaotic depending on your disposition. Street parking on weekends is its own adventure.

The visible ovens anchor a room of warm earth tones and clean lines inside Palazzo Resistenza, a setting that signals this Neapolitan pizza spot takes itself seriously without being stiff about it. The pizza leans contemporary Neapolitan, light and bread-scented with toppings that don't crowd each other, and the fried sides are worth ordering alongside. A proper wine list rounds things out.

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 fried starters at this Ottaviano pizzeria are what people talk about first, a dry, crisp crust giving way to something soft and properly seasoned inside. The contemporary pies follow the same logic: light, fragrant dough, local toppings that taste like what they are. The drinks list runs to artisanal Campanian wines and beers chosen to sit alongside the food rather than distract from it. Modern room, friendly service, no chaos.

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 pizza restaurant in Lecce where the dough is made entirely with type 1 flour, kept thin and light enough that a second pie feels like a reasonable choice. The room has a vintage-meets-contemporary look that someone clearly sweated over, and the wine list runs past a hundred labels, which is ambitious for a pizzeria by anyone's measure. Seasonal toppings, a proper dessert menu, and staff who actually know the list. It ranked on 50 Top Pizza Italy.

A family-run pizzeria in Corigliano where the room is clean and minimal and the doughs are light, contemporary style. The menu reads like someone thought hard about it, with creative combinations that don't feel forced. The chef's wife handles desserts herself, which tells you something about how the whole operation runs. A relaxed place that takes its ingredients seriously without making you feel like you're attending a lecture.

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.

The Queen Wheel arrives larger than a standard pie, cooked in three stages, and finished with your choice of raw Puglian extra virgin olive oil. This is a contemporary Bari pizzeria where the dough itself is the point, rotating through cereals, black rice, beer must, and citrus variations depending on what the team is working with. Round, white, red, and rectangular versions all share the menu, and the toppings balance the traditional with the quietly inventive.

A pizza spot in the quiet outskirts of Bergamo that somehow requires reservations on a Tuesday. The room is simple and loud in the good way, and the dough gets 48 hours of natural leavening before it sees any heat, which shows in the airy crumb and the charred, chewy crust. Toppings lean creative and seasonal, sourced through an organic supply chain the team takes seriously. Craft beers and Franciacorta round things out.

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.

A pizza restaurant in the small Basilicata hill town of Rionero in Vulture, Glamour turns out long-fermented pies with a light, fragrant crust and toppings built around local Lucanian ingredients. The kitchen takes the pairing work seriously, and the room is modern and tidy without trying too hard. It placed on 50 Top Pizza Italy, which in southern Italy is a meaningful flag to plant. Good wine and beer list, attentive service.

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.

A pizzeria steps from Salerno's waterfront, with a terrace open year-round and an interior that somebody clearly spent real money on. The dough is soft and well-leavened, and the toppings lean on DOP and Slow Food-certified ingredients from across Campania, from the Vesuvian plains down to Cilento. The fried montanarina alongside the baked version is a nice touch, and the wine list is longer than you'd expect from a pizza place.

A no-frills pizza spot in Taranto where the dough menu splits into classics, multigrain, and a protein-rich line aimed at athletes, which is either very niche or very Puglia. The atmosphere is casual and the service moves fast, so nobody lingers over the menu descriptions, which are admittedly sparse. The pistachio croquette has been known to distract from everything else on offer.

A converted baglio facing the Egadi Islands, with a sea-view terrace that makes the setting feel a little unfair to everywhere else. Grano is a contemporary pizza spot where the dough gets a long fermentation and a light, unshowy crust, while the toppings lean into seasonal combinations that balance rather than pile on. The wine list runs deeper than you'd expect, and the homemade desserts are worth saving room for.

A large summer terrace opens the evening at this modern pizzeria tucked into the residential streets of Venaria Reale, the town anchored by the grand Savoy palace. The dough is stone-ground and long-fermented, and the menu runs across styles, from classic Neapolitan to Roman paddle pies to a crispy black rice version that sounds like a gimmick until it arrives. The fried starters are not an afterthought.

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

A pizzeria and casual restaurant near the entrance of Agrigento, where the dough gets serious attention: rolled thin and even, built on long study rather than habit. The team makes some cheeses in-house and puts real work into the tomato sauce, so the fundamentals are doing the heavy lifting. It reads as a reliable stop for anyone moving through the Valley of the Temples corridor without time to gamble on somewhere untested.

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.

A pizzeria on a proper town square, Groove Tortona runs two styles side by side: a soft, Naples-leaning round and a thin, crackling C-Rock version, each on its own semi-wholemeal dough. The kitchen aims for roughly half its toppings to be vegetable-led, which sounds like a policy statement but plays out in combinations like a vegetable ragù with prosecco and vegan stracciatella. Local Derthona wines and a pair of house craft beers round things out.

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.