Italian Pizza Flavors/Toppings?

Which restaurant?

Pratolina, Kathy. I asked them what was on the Pratolina, and they told me, but I hate to keep bugging them about each type. LOL. I had never heard of "speck" before. It's on the Pratolina, which sounds fabulous!

Speck is a type of ham.

Those names refer to a couple of regions (Genovese and Emiliana) which likely refer to well known foods of the region, what foods? who knows. Genovese could refer to pesto or even seafood. Emiliana probably meat based (think tomatoes, prosciutto, cheese)

The others roughly translate to Delicious, Tasty, and Wild.

So in the end, they could mean almost anything.

A vast generalization though would be to point out that any pizza will have relatively (compared to the US) few toppings, a sauce, some cheese and maybe one or two toppings, none of them laid on "thick"

No need to plan this out, wander by, if it looks good; Eat It.

Interesting sideline though, the name of the place and the names of the pizzas are all feminine forms of the words.

I will alter my previous response. After looking at the website, this place is certainly non-traditional, taking pizza a bit different than most places.

So you asked about the La Pratolina, it appears to be a crust with a Truffle cream sauce, Mozzarella, mushrooms and Ham.

The Emiliana has a Pistachio Pesto sauce, Fresh Mozzarella, and Mortadella (think high class baloney with chunks of stuff in it)

The others I did not see, but overall, If I was in Rome, this looks to be a great place. I still stick to my last comment, go, take a look, if it looks good, go for it.

Try this as the text is larger:

http://www.pizzerialapratolina.it/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/asporto.pdf

Genovese is buffalo mozzarella, pesto, tomato and prosciutto (dry-cured ham).

Emiliana is mozzarella, Bronte pistachio pesto, Caciocavallo cheese and wild-boar/pork "bologna".

And so on. Just google the ingredients if you don't know what they are. You will need to figure them out in Rome anyway - or ask, if the waitstaff speak English - if choosing from a menu. Otherwise, it's helpful to bring a guidebook with some translations for Italian food along.

Wow!!!! Thank you Paul and Kathy! You have both made me terribly hungry. Those all sound deliciosa! Grazie! I love that the forms are all feminine, Paul. Thanks for pointing this out. This Pizza Place is said to be "the real thing," frequented only by locals, not tourists, one of the top 3 pizza places in Rome, and it's near our lodging in Prati! I'm so excited. We may go there on our wedding anniversary. And I'm thinking the Pristine Sistine Tour would make a fine wedding anniversary gift for my pastor husband! He would love it! Memories to last a lifetime, too!

The chunks of "stuff" in mortadella: fat, black peppercorns, maybe pistachios. And the names are feminine because "pizza" is feminine, adjective gender follows noun gender.

Gracialynne, pretty sure you can use google translate and Wikipedia to research the words and how they apply to various menu items. Make a list, it's easier than piles of emails.

The Bronte pistachio pesto on the Emiliana might be quite strong. Sicilian garlic can be very powerful.

Good to know, acraven! I love strong garlic!

Thanks, Zoe. Good idea! I've never had pistachio on a pizza. Sounds amazing and awesome!

What are your favorite pizzas in Rome, Kathy, Paul, Zoe, Acraven?

S Jackson, thanks for the info on speck. What is your favorite pizza to order when you are in Rome?

I have no particular recommendation; it's possible that I didn't eat pizza on my most recent trip to Rome. But I've never had a bad or mediocre (by American standards) pizza from an Italian pizzeria. Just avoid the places (bread shops rather than restaurants) where they bake big sheets of pizza in the morning and sell squares for hours afterward. That stuff isn't much better than you'll find in a US food court.

Thanks for the good info, Acraven.

My favorite at La Pratolina was always the one with salmon and arugula. ALso, try their sfizi ahead of the meal. Fried goodness!

I've found that when it comes to pizza here, simpler is better. In other words, not too many toppings. Pizzerias here are different than in the US in that they usually have a set menu of various pizzas but even if it doesn't say it on the menu, you can always create your own with whatever toppings you want. Also, a pizza here is usually for one person. If you're not a big eater, you can usually split one with another person. The pizza is also much thinner than what you find in the US so it's not as filling. They have toppings here that you don't normally see in the US such as tuna, mixed seafood, even corn but they also have most of the standard stuff you find in the US. It's rare to find chicken, meatballs/hamburg and a few other things.

I like to experiment occasionally with flavor combinations and sometimes I hit on one that I love. A popular one here is "mascarpone e crudo" (mascarpone with prosciutto crudo). By itself it's great but I add mushrooms to it and it just sets it off. Same with the spinacci e ricotta (spinach and ricotta cheese). My current favorite combination is tuna, onion and olive. My kids' favorite pizza is hot dog and french fries. I'm kind of surprised that combo hasn't caught on in the US yet, hot dog and french fry pizza just seems so American...

be prepared to eat your pizza (as said above, one each) with a knife and fork. It is unlikely that it will be sliced.

the name of the place and the names of the pizzas are all feminine forms of the words.

Pizza is a feminine noun, the adjectives referred to a noun follow it.

Just avoid the places (bread shops rather than restaurants) where they bake big sheets of pizza in the morning and sell squares for hours afterward. That stuff isn't much better than you'll find in a US food court.

Even if it's called pizza by the slice, that's the industrial version of Focaccia, originally from Liguria and Puglia. It tastes a little like american pizza because, out of Puglia and Liguria, it's not fresh made, it's not flattened many times and it's cooked in electric ovens.

The original focaccia made in Liguria has no tomatoes and it's thin. The one from Puglia is thick with fresh cherry tomatoes squeezed on it as only topping.

So much above better than I could communicate so wanted to just add 1 thing I have seen many times.

Many travelers are aware that the English word pepperoni translates into Italian as peppers not a meat at all.
At most pizzerias you will see pizza with salame piccante commonly. It is a spicy salami and the closest thing to pepperoni you will find though still quite different. Much spicier, larger in size, thinner more like sliced salami than pepperoni
I am not sure how often Italians eat that pizza locally but since pepperoni is so popular on pizza elsewhere it is one of the more popular pizzas at Italian pizzerias.

So if it was always like the above it would be no problem, tourists would understand they don't have pepperoni in Italy and the closest you are going to get is a spicy salami or choose something else.

The issue lies in that many pizzeria type places that cater to tourists have on their menu the words "Pepperoni Pizza" ; if one orders that they get salame picante pizza and have seen on multiple occasions customers unhappy with the pizza they receive.

In Italy I usually prefer just the basic margherita ; if the place has it with buffalo mozz even better.
Simplicity of the quality ingredients is usually the name of the game in Italy.
if you are big toppings person you may prefer American pizza better.

Italian pizza may have several toppings on it, but they won't usually be loaded up on top of each other. A Quattro Stagione pizza will have sections of four different seasonal toppings; a capricciosa pizza will have an egg in the middle of it, surrounded by a few other toppings.

I have noticed that mostly American tourists eat their pizza with their fingers. Also have encountered that the toppings are not spread uniform across the pizza but in clumps in different sections of the pizza. So be prepared to go with the flow. Just because it doesn't look like American pizza doesn't mean that it is not pizza.

A lot of the emphasis in trendy places in Rome is put on the crust. Often the dough is aged, sometimes for several days.

I like going from place to place trying the various adaptations made. I really like Dar Poeta in Trastevere. La Pratolina is a good option.

Have a look at the back copies of the best pizza blog I know ... Our Weekly Pizza at https://ourweeklypizza.com/category/rome/

Thanks for the cool blog, Nigel! Pratolina brought us free complimentary Prosecco.

I have noticed that mostly American tourists eat their pizza with their fingers.

There are no hard and fast rules. I've witnessed many Italians eating pizza with their hands. They simply cut it into slices and then take each slice, folding it in half and eating it with their hands. Equally I've seen some eat it with a knife and a fork. Each to their own, I typically eat mine folded in half and with my hands and I've yet to hear disapproving mutterings.

JC, this is how I prefer to eat pizza in Italy, too. I was eating it by the biteful, but in Prati on Christmas Day we got such a fine Pizza Margherita that I started folding it over, like you say, as I saw the locals doing the same. I think it tastes best this way...