Best pizza in Italy? Mapped!

OK, I'll bite (no pun intended)--

Although quite an interesting article, I'm always wary when a publication manufactures its 'best of' anything, subjectivity-wise. Unless it's your Naples-driven Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana--which sets the strict guidelines for Napolitan pizza, I'm just not that knocked out by it. In that vein, I was quite happy with Pizzeria Trianon in Salerno, which was the second store of original Trianon in Naples, which was established in 1923. That was good enough for me.

One more thing--for the few 'pies' I looked at on the map, I didn't see any of the Roman Bonci-style pizza slice with just about anything on it. (BTW, Chicago just opened the first non-Rome Bonci to rave reviews--haven't made it over yet.) When we were in Rome in March, at lunchtime we happened upon the Forno bakery owned by the Roscioli family. There was a salsiccia/greens (rapini?) rectangular slice on a grilled cracker-type base that was unbelievable, so I returned the next day for another taste, of course they were out and when I asked when they might make some more, they said 'maybe next week'.

Get it, savor it while you can...

I'm always wary when a publication manufactures its 'best of'
anything, subjectivity-wise.

O absolutely, Jay. "Best" as applied to just about anything is entirely subjective. Still, if I was in the neighborhood of a pie shop on the list, I'd be game to give it a go. All in good fun!

Ridicolo....I can think of two pizzerias that had AMAZING pizza that are not on the list:

Ristorante Charlie in Orvieto and Pizzeria la Picea in Levanto. (The second place has won awards for its unique dough.)

I would go back to either one in a heartbeat.

We have made searching for great pizza an avocation and I am sorry that my favorites in Rome are not included. La Gatta Magione is very good, BTW, but at the top of our list: La Pratolina, Dar Poeta, 72 Ore, Da Remo. Also missing is an international award winner from Emilia-Romagna, Pizzeria La Bufala.

Subjective, of course, but it sure is fun to do the research.

...it sure is fun to do the research.
Exactly! 🍕

May be worth noting that the rankings focus only on places serving Neapolitan style pizza true to the style. If a restaurant uses a different crust or is a bit more liberal with toppings and prep...they did not qualify.

This was supposed to be FUN. 🙃

But if you want to get technical, they issued awards for specific categories, and I'm pretty sure that the dessert winner with "apricots, lemon-flavoured ricotta, hazelnuts and mint" isn't even close to anything resembling Neapolitan pizza.

Here's the complete list with all the categories in addition to Napoletana. "Italian" is a category:

http://www.accademia-pizzaioli.it/e-uscita-la-guida-pizzerie-ditalia-2018-del-gambero-rosso-chi-sono-i-migliori/

Hey, Kate, how can talking about food in Italy not be fun?! I'm having a gas!

Off topic maybe, but here's something else that's truly 'fun' to do in Italy, probably only feasible in big cities such as Rome or Venice--for us it was Roma, and this only works if you have a few days in town to explore. Seek out restaurants that specialize in cuisine of a different province/state than where you're staying, in this case Lazio. We were there this last March for six nights, and found a Sicilian place named Elle Effe steps away from our apartment that was outstanding, and then one night our Roman friends took us up near Porta Pia to a Pugliese restaurant that featured orecchiette (ear) pasta with clams and rapini. Mild and fabulous.

Others might chime in with more accuracy (Roberto?), but in my two trips to Florence I found a lot of the same thing on the menus--bistec alla Florentine, ribollita, prosciutto/melon, a lot of dishes with porcini or truffle, etc. They were great and certainly indigenous, but I would like to see what else is out there on our next visit for sure.

Ta-dah! Jay gets a Fun Award. 🏆

With Santarpia rated as serving one of the top 10 Neopolitan pizzas in Italy, I had to try it. The ingredients were clearly top-noch and flavors were very good, so I suspect most people would really enjoy it. Proving that this is a subjective exercise, and possibly because I like true Roman pizza best, I was impressed with but not blown away by my margherita pizza. Still, I'm very glad I tried it.

The pizzeria is located in the piazza behind Florence's Sant'Ambrogio Market. It's only open for dinner and reservations are a must (day before is usually sufficient). Everyone who arrived without a reservation was turned away.

Thanks for the report, Frank! Even if it didn't fall into your personal "best" category, I'm happy that it wasn't a waste of euros and calories either. :O)