The Best Places to Eat in Italy

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.

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.