From the classic Neapolitan to the thin, large Romana and more modern fried styles, pizza is going through a revolution in Italy. Luciana Squadrilli guides us through seven of the varieties on offer today – and where to eat them.
Born in Naples but currently living in Rome, Luciana Squadrilli is a freelance journalist and author specialising in food and travel writing. She is a regular contributor to Identità Golose, Via dei Gourmet, Gazza Golosa, I Cento Roma, Flos Olei, Olive Oil Times and Hi-Europe Magazine, and when she's not travelling or discovering culinary delights, she indulges her personal passions: pizza, extra virgin olive oil and the desert.
What’s the first image that comes to mind when you hear the world ‘pizza’ associated to Italy? Likely, it’s the round, soft, wood-fired Neapolitan pizza – the iconic margherita bearing the colours of the Italian flag – hot from the oven and with its appealing crusty edge.
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Naples is the city where pizza history was made, properly acknowledged as its birth place and an essential destination for anyone who loves pizza and wants to master the art of its making. Yet, there’s more to pizza than the Neapolitan variety; travelling through Italy one becomes aware of the huge diversity of the country’s food. In the wake of the recent pizza renaissance which exploded in Italy and abroad, attracting the attention of food critics and a growing number of enthusiasts all over the world, the pizza universe has become wider and more varied, sometimes even moving away from its street food roots to a more gourmet one and becoming an experimental field for the most adventurous
Regional styles and schools developed along personal creations, joining the different local traditions of what is essentially seasoned flatbread – from the thin cheese focaccia in Liguria to the thicker bases served with tomatoes and olives in Puglia. Even within Naples’ borders it’s easy to find different varieties, including the
But finding your way through the midst of this constantly growing diversity is not easy. One point of reference to help distinguish between different types of pizza is the crusty edge. From the thin, almost indiscernible one found on Roman pizza to the fluffy and exaggerated charred edges marking the latest trend in Neapolitan pizza, the dimensions of the crust surrounding the centre (making the task of eating a single slice by hand without letting any sauce or cheese spill over much easier) is a good indicator of what kind of pizza you are eating and, possibly, even of where you are eating it.
All The Styles Of Italian Pizza
So, let’s try to sort out the different kinds of pizza available in Italy today based on their crust, shape and toppings.
A true reference point for pizza the world over, Neapolitan pizza is an everyday life staple and part of local life philosophy. The authentic pizza Napoletana is soft and thin – easy to fold and eat on the go if necessary – except for its edge, which is usually thicker in order to enclose toppings and to make holding a slice easy. The fast cooking in a wood-fired oven at very high temperature increases the creation of air bubbles in the dough. Actually, according to the specific area of the city or to the
(cart’s wheel pizza) found in the oldest part of the city – for example at Da Michele or Sorbillo – to the newest ‘hovercraft’ pizza with such a puffed up crust it looks like an inflatable dinghy, made by chefs like Francesco Martucci at I Masanielli or Franco Pepe at Pepe in Grani, both in Caserta.
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The more common version, though, is a clever mix between the two, with a light and tasty crust that’s just as tasty as the inner part of the pizza, such as Enzo Coccia’s one at La Notizia. Marinara and Margherita are the most popular versions, although you can generally find many other options on the menu.
Very thin, large and crunchy – this is how Romans like their pizza, even though in recent years new trends have seduced many. Traditional Roman pizza barely has a visible edge, since the dough is rolled out and flattened with a rolling pin which takes all the air out, and the long baking in electric ovens gives it a rusk-like texture. In the best pizzerias, however, the well-risen dough is rolled by hand and the result is a lovely thin and crispy crust. Head to Emma or the recently launched Gulietta – both in Rome – to give a try.
It was only a matter of time until pizza made the jump into fine dining, and this relatively new style of pizza was the result. Created in Veneto thanks to Simone Padoan, whose venue – I Tigli in San Bonifacio, near Verona – looks more like a restaurant than a pizzeria, it soon spread all over Italy, mostly in the north. It’s now known as gourmet or tasting pizza since it is usually served already cut into slices, each carefully dressed and decorated like a single, perfect bite. Using sourdough, very long rising times and stone-ground flours (and an electric or wood-fired oven depending on the specific kind of pizza) the result is a thick and soft disk with an almost level crust that’s very light despite its solid appearance. The end result is more like a focaccia than a pizza, and the toppings are both raw and cooked separately in the oven.
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A sort of mix between the former three styles, pizza all’Italiana definitely looks and tastes like a pizza (usually more on the Neapolitan side) but is more open-minded for chefs wanting to experiment with regional traditions and personal interpretation. This means there’s scope to use lots of creative toppings comprised of rare, locally sourced ingredients. Usually the dough is quite similar to Neapolitan pizza but sometimes also sees olive oil used as well as flour, yeast, water and salt – and the electric oven can replace traditional brick. The depth of the crust can vary depending on the rise, the percentage of water in the dough and baking, but it is usually quite deep. The best examples of this kind of pizza are spread throughout Italy, from the different venues of Berberé Pizza across the country to ‘O Fiore Mio in Faenza (near Bologna) and the Roman pizzerias La Gatta Mangiona and Sforno.
In Italy, the world of pizza has grown to include many other delicious things all sharing the common ground of dough, which can then take on different shapes and tastes. One of Rome’s typical street foods for example – yet easy to find in other locations, mostly in Northern Italy but also in Sicily – is the
A sort of ‘pizza by the slice’ more similar to a focaccia, baked in rectangular trays, sold in cut pieces and priced based on weight. Toppings include
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– a round or moon-shaped piece of dough folded to enclose a rich filling of ricotta, salami and other ingredients and then deep fried at high temperature – has seen a strong revival recently, and brand new venues such as ‘O Sfizio d’a Notizia by Enzo Coccia have joined long-established Neapolitan landmarks such as La Masardona.
A smart, innovative reshaping of pizza was launched in Rome a few years ago by Stefano Callegari to instant acclaim. His Trapizzino (a triangular piece of focaccia cut to reveal a pocket filled with the typical, tasty Roman recipes such as meatballs or
Join an ever-growing community of food lovers now by subscribing to our newsletter and get all the latest recipes, features and much more to your inboxIf you’ve ever visited Italy (or for that matter!), you might have noticed that there are many different types of Italian pizza, from
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. Just like America has New York-style pizza, Chicago-style deep dish pizza, and so on, so do we have many different varieties in Italy!
Is one of the most famous types of Italian pizza. Protected by a Traditional Specialty Guaranteed (TSG) certification, this style must be made in a very particular way.
The dough is comprised of wheat flour, yeast, salt, and water and is left to rise for up to 24 hours. It’s shaped by hand into a flat, round disk, about 3 millimeters thick. After that, it’s topped with ingredients and baked for 90 seconds in a blisteringly hot (around 900°F) wood-burning oven. The result is a soft, elastic heart with a tall, fluffy crust called the
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originated in Roman bakeries as a way to use up leftover bread dough. Bakers would stretch the dough lengthwise, top it with fresh ingredients, and serve it by the slice on a wooden paddle. Unlike pizza Napoletana, this style has a highly-hydrated dough (about 80% water) and is cooked in an electric oven around 580°F.
The dough is denser and rises for a long time, giving each slice a soft, fluffy interior and a crispy exterior. Get a slice at your local and try our recipe!
This kind is flat and round and it has a very thin crust. Unlike pizza Napoletana, this style is crispy and has an almost cracker-like crust!
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Is the perfect
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