Italy’s best pizza can be a simple Margherita eaten in Naples, a seasonal creation in Rome, or a carefully paced tasting experience in a small town. Choosing where to go starts with deciding which of those meals you want.
The latest awards offer one starting point. Confine in Milan took first place in 50 Top Pizza Italia 2026, with I Masanielli–Francesco Martucci in Caserta and Seu Pizza Illuminati in Rome sharing second place. Yet a useful pizza itinerary should also leave room for historic institutions and distinctive destinations beyond the podium.
These 15 pizzerias combine current award winners with established names worth knowing. This is an editorial selection, not a reproduction of an official top-15 ranking, and the numbering is for navigation. Campania features strongly, alongside addresses in Lazio, Lombardy, Veneto and Calabria.
How to Choose Your Pizza Experience
A soft Neapolitan pizza, a crisp Roman pizza and a contemporary tasting menu offer different pleasures. A large, airy crust is not automatically better than a thin one, and elaborate toppings do not automatically improve a well-made Margherita.
The suggestions below indicate what to look for rather than promise that a particular seasonal pizza will remain available. Check each restaurant’s official website for its current menu, location and booking arrangements.
For the basics of ordering, cutting and sharing, read our guide to how to eat pizza like an Italian.
1. Confine — Milan, Lombardy
Choose it for: a contemporary pizza dinner with a strong wine focus.
Francesco Capece and Mario Ventura’s Confine is the headline address in the 2026 Italian ranking. Its identity brings pizza and a wine cellar together, making it a particularly appealing choice when dinner itself is the evening’s main event.
The menu moves beyond familiar combinations, with fried-and-baked preparations and carefully composed toppings. Approach it with curiosity: choose a pizza that shows how the kitchen combines ingredients, and ask for a wine recommendation if that interests you.
Planning tip: Read the current menu before booking so you can choose the experience that suits your appetite and budget.
Official website and reservations
2. I Masanielli – Francesco Martucci — Caserta, Campania
Choose it for: one of the leading names in contemporary Italian pizza.
Francesco Martucci’s I Masanielli shared second place in 50 Top Pizza Italia 2026. It makes Caserta a compelling destination for travelers who want pizza to be a major part of their trip.
This is a good place to let the current menu guide your choice rather than arrive determined to order a pizza remembered from an old review. Ask which preparation best represents the kitchen’s work that day.
Planning tip: Combine the meal with a visit to the Royal Palace of Caserta, leaving enough time between sightseeing and dinner. Book specifically with Francesco Martucci’s restaurant; Sasà Martucci has a separate establishment.
Official website and reservations
3. Seu Pizza Illuminati — Rome, Lazio
Choose it for: creative, seasonal pizza in Rome.
Pier Daniele Seu and Valeria Zuppardo’s restaurant offers a contemporary interpretation of pizza rather than the thin, crisp Roman style many visitors expect. Its approach starts with familiar flavors and develops them through inventive combinations.
The 2026 awards recognized both the restaurant, joint second in Italy, and its “Assoluto di Melanzane,” named Pizza of the Year. Ask whether that eggplant creation is available; otherwise, choose from the current seasonal selection.
Planning tip: Make sure you select Seu Pizza Illuminati when booking through the group’s website.
Official website and reservations
4. Palazzo Petrucci Pizzeria — Naples, Campania
Choose it for: acclaimed pizza during a day in Naples’ historic center.
The pizzeria in Piazza San Domenico Maggiore combines a convenient sightseeing location with serious pizza credentials: it placed third in 50 Top Pizza Italia 2026.
For visitors, the setting is especially useful. You can build a walk through the old city around the meal rather than make a separate journey across Naples. Our Naples walking guide provides ideas for the surrounding streets.
Planning tip: Select the historic-center pizzeria carefully. Palazzo Petrucci also has other dining venues, including its restaurant in Posillipo.
5. I Tigli — San Bonifacio, Veneto
Choose it for: pizza approached with the attention of a restaurant tasting experience.
Simone Padoan’s I Tigli is an important address in the development of contemporary Italian pizza. Its approach combines sourdough baking, carefully selected ingredients and techniques associated with restaurant cooking.
Come here interested in the relationship between the base and its toppings. Comparing different preparations can be more rewarding than looking for the most elaborate ingredient list.
Planning tip: San Bonifacio is outside Verona. Treat the meal as a planned excursion and arrange your return transport before settling in.
Official website and visitor information
6. 50 Kalò — Naples, Campania
Choose it for: Ciro Salvo’s interpretation of Neapolitan pizza.
50 Kalò is a strong choice for visitors who want to keep their attention on dough, tomato, cheese and the balance between them. The Naples restaurant placed fifth in the 2026 Italian ranking.
A Margherita is a sensible starting point for your own comparison with other pizzerias. Ordering something familiar makes it easier to notice differences in texture, seasoning and baking.
Planning tip: The official website lists more than one Naples location as well as restaurants elsewhere. Check the exact branch before making plans.
Official website and locations
7. Avenida Calò — Rome, Lazio
Choose it for: a pizza-and-wine evening in the Flaminio area.
Francesco Calò’s Avenida describes itself as an enopizzeria, bringing wine into the center of the experience. Its approach draws on Naples while emphasizing its own flour blend and selected ingredients.
The restaurant placed sixth in 50 Top Pizza Italia 2026, while Calò received the guide’s Pizza Maker of the Year award. It is worth considering when you want to explore Rome’s pizza scene beyond the historic center.
Planning tip: The restaurant is on Viale Pinturicchio. Check the journey from your accommodation before choosing a late reservation.
Official website, menu and reservations
8. Dry Milano — Milan, Lombardy
Choose it for: pizza and cocktails in the same evening.
Dry’s distinguishing feature is the combination of a pizzeria and cocktail bar. That makes it a useful choice for friends who want dinner with a drinks-focused night out.
The restaurant ranked seventh in the 2026 Italian guide and also received its Best Cocktail List award. For your order, think about how the drink will work with the pizza rather than choosing each independently.
Planning tip: Check the current dining and bar arrangements when reserving, particularly if you want to stay for drinks after eating.
9. Cambia-Menti — Caserta, Campania
Choose it for: exploring different pizza preparations.
Ciccio Vitiello’s Cambia-Menti offers more than variations on a standard round pizza. The 2026 guide highlights classic interpretations alongside pan-baked preparations, fried montanare and a tasting menu inspired by Bourbon-era cuisine.
This is a particularly interesting stop if you are comparing several Caserta pizzerias. Look for a preparation that differs from what you have already eaten, rather than repeating the same order everywhere.
Planning tip: Check which tasting options are currently offered and whether they require a specific reservation.
10. Sasà Martucci — Caserta, Campania
Choose it for: pizza connected to the ingredients of the Caserta area.
Sasà Martucci’s menu emphasizes local producers and regional ingredients, including products carrying protected-origin designations and Slow Food recognition. The pizzas use a soft, airy dough.
For visitors, the appeal is the chance to explore the surrounding food culture through a pizza. Read the ingredient descriptions and choose something that introduces you to a producer or flavor you do not already know.
Planning tip: This is the restaurant on Via Antonio Vivaldi. It is separate from Francesco Martucci’s I Masanielli.
Official menu and restaurant information
11. BOB Alchimia a Spicchi — Montepaone Lido, Calabria
Choose it for: a pizza destination on Calabria’s Ionian coast.
Roberto Davanzo and Anna Rotella’s BOB brings Calabria into this selection. It reached tenth place in the 2026 Italian ranking, giving travelers another reason to explore beyond the country’s most familiar food cities.
Published menu material includes ingredients from Calabrian producers, including local dairy products. Let those regional connections guide your order rather than assuming a Calabrian pizza must always feature spicy ’nduja.
Planning tip: Build the visit into an Ionian-coast itinerary. Confirm the current menu and service arrangements directly before traveling.
12. La Cascina dei Sapori — Rezzato, Lombardy
Choose it for: a pizza-focused excursion near Brescia.
Antonio Pappalardo’s La Cascina dei Sapori is an established destination in Rezzato. Its approach encourages tasting and comparison, making it appealing to diners who want to pay close attention to different doughs and toppings.
It also provides a useful alternative to concentrating every northern Italian food stop in Milan. Consider it when planning time around Brescia, with the meal given its own place in the itinerary.
Planning tip: Check the restaurant’s current menu and booking page. Rezzato is a separate destination from central Brescia.
Official website and reservations
13. Pepe in Grani — Caiazzo, Campania
Choose it for: Franco Pepe’s distinctive use of local ingredients.
Pepe in Grani is the kind of pizzeria around which travelers build a detour. In Caiazzo, Franco Pepe’s work connects pizza with the ingredients and producers of the surrounding countryside.
The signature Margherita Sbagliata is an excellent introduction. The pizza is baked with buffalo mozzarella and olive oil, then finished with Riccio tomato purée and a basil reduction. Adding the tomato after baking changes the familiar relationship between the ingredients.
Planning tip: Arrange transport to and from Caiazzo before booking, particularly for an evening visit.
Official website and reservations
14. Diego Vitagliano — Naples, Campania
Choose it for: contemporary Neapolitan pizza beyond the historic center.
Diego Vitagliano is associated with a modern approach to Neapolitan dough and carefully balanced toppings. The Bagnoli restaurant is a useful destination for visitors interested in comparing this style with Naples’ older institutions.
Choose a relatively simple pizza if you want to focus on the texture of the base and crust. More elaborate toppings can come later, once you have a point of comparison.
Planning tip: The group operates multiple locations. For the Bagnoli address, select Via Nuova Agnano when checking the official website.
Official locations and reservations
15. L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele — Naples, Campania
Choose it for: a historic institution with a short, traditional menu.
Da Michele offers a useful counterpoint to tasting menus and intricate toppings. Its appeal lies in a tightly focused approach to familiar pizzas.
One detail deserves updating: the original restaurant’s current website advertises four pizzas, so older claims that it serves only Margherita and Marinara should not be repeated. Those two classics remain obvious starting points for a first visit.
Planning tip: Consult the original Naples restaurant’s website for its current arrangements, and allow flexibility in your schedule.
Official Naples website and menu
Planning a Pizza Trip in Italy
Choose two or three contrasting experiences rather than trying to collect every famous name. In Campania, that might mean a traditional Naples lunch, a contemporary dinner in Caserta and a separate visit to Caiazzo. In northern Italy, Milan offers both wine-focused and cocktail-focused options, while Rezzato and San Bonifacio require more deliberate planning.
Book where reservations are offered, confirm the exact branch and check cancellation conditions. For tasting experiences, ask whether everyone at the table must choose the same menu.
Compare complete meal costs, too. Pizza, a starter, drinks, dessert and any stated cover charge can add up very differently from the headline price of a Margherita. Our guide to traveling through Italy on a budget can help you decide where to spend and where to keep things simple.
A good pizza trip should leave time to enjoy the places between meals. Pick the pizzerias that match your taste, plan the journeys carefully and arrive hungry.
External Sources
- 50 Top Pizza Italia 2026: official results
- Visit Verona: I Tigli
- 50 Top Pizza: Cambia-Menti
- Gambero Rosso: La Cascina dei Sapori
- Pepe in Grani: Margherita Sbagliata
- Official restaurant websites linked in each entry.
Research checked October 15, 2026. Menus, opening arrangements and availability can change.
