Your trip to Italy is not complete if you skip trying the best types of Italian pizza!
Pizza is a traditional Italian dish that originated in Naples, Italy. It became so popular worldwide that countries made their own versions, imitating different Italian pizza styles and adding a twist here and there – but of course, nothing beats the original!
Pizza in Italy is a universal Italian symbol. This Neapolitan offering is iconic be it classic or gourmet, thick and soft or thin and crunchy, and with or without a stuffed crust. Italian people eat pizza on Saturday or Sunday evenings after playing sports or watching a game with friends to celebrate kids’ birthdays.
If you want to spend a weekend in Italy, you need to know the different types of traditional Italian pizza and toppings of all the most famous Italian pizza styles.
In this post, we’ll discuss the popular and authentic Italian pizzas, their ingredients, and some history. So keep scrolling to find them out.
ALSO READ: 18 Most Popular Authentic Italian Pizza Toppings
16 Best Types of Italian Pizza To Try in Italy
Here’s a list of the best types of Italian pizza you must try when you visit il Bel Paese.
1. Pizza Napoletana
Pizza Napoletana (Neapolitan pizza) was born in Naples and is labeled as the best pizza in Italy and one of the best-loved Italian pizza styles. Its style is protected by Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) certification.
The wheat flour, yeast, salt, and water dough rises for 24 hours. It’s hand-shaped into a flat 3-mm-thick disk, then baked for 90 seconds in a 900°F wood-burning oven.
Italians call the soft, elastic heart cornicione.
2. Margherita
When it comes to Margherita pizza, there’s not much more to say. It’s the queen of the table, plain and simple.
The Margherita pizza is, without a doubt, the most popular pizza in Italy. It can be made simply with mozzarella fiordilatte or mozzarella de bufala, which is called a bufalina pizza.
In addition to mozzarella, tomato, oil, and basil are also used. This is how Italian pizza makers called pizzaioli have always done it.
3. Frutti di mare
Frutti di mare features the traditional Italian pizza toppings of tomato and mozzarella, along with a variety of seafood such as shrimp, mussels, and squid, as well as a dash of garlic and parsley for added flavor.
It is a dish that exemplifies the best of both worlds: the flavorful pizza of Italy and the fantastic seafood that can be found in the country. Hence, the monicker frutti di mare which translates to “fruit of the sea,” in reference to the seafood ingredient.
4. Pizza fritta
Have you ever heard of fried pizza? It is a traditional pizza that is most popular among locals and international foodies. Allow me to introduce you to pizza fritta (“fried pizza”) from the heart of Naples.
This pizza is deep-fried in vegetable oil and stuffed with ricotta, Parmesan, mozzarella, and basil. It is much easier to fry in oil than managing a wood oven.
Pizza fritta’s outside texture is doughnut-like, with cheesy insides. Ricotta and provolone cheeses will melt in your mouth after just one bite.
ALSO READ: 10 Best Pizzerias in Naples, Italy
5. Pizza Boscaiola
Even though pizza boscaiola is exclusively associated with Naples, every region in Italy makes an effort to highlight the pizza things that it excels at doing and makes use of its own regional specialties.
Boscaiola, for example, is said to originate in Tuscany and/or Emilia-Romagna.
Porcini or champignon mushrooms, sausage slices, and mozzarella are the ingredients that make up the toppings for the pizza boscaiola.
The name “boscaiola” means “woodsman,” and it was given to this Italian delight due to the mushrooms which a woodsman would have gathered in his small satchel while exploring the woods.
This is one of those really delicious authentic Italian pizza types you simply must try when in Italy.
6. Pizza alla Diavola
Because spicy salami is the primary component of this pizza, the diavola (“deviled” or the “devil’s” pizza) is an excellent choice for anyone who enjoys robust flavors.
Pizza alla diavola is traditionally topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella, spicy salami aka pepperoni, and hot chili peppers. The spicy salami and hot chili peppers make this truly the devil’s pizza!
Although you may know it better by another name (the pepperoni pizza), it is one of the most famous pizzas outside of Italy. It is trendy in the United States and the United Kingdom.
7. Ortolana
Individuals who are concerned about their waistline but still want to indulge in a scrumptious meal on occasion will find pizza ortolana as the ideal solution since it is topped with vegetables. The name, after all, means “farmer” or “grower of fruits and vegetables.”
In addition to mozzarella and tomato, this pizza features peppers, aubergines, and courgette/zucchini, all of which are cut into strips or thin slices and roasted.
Alternatively, this pizza can be topped with any other combination of roasted fresh vegetables.
8. Quattro Formaggi
Quattro formaggi is just one of the many different types of Italian pizza loaded with cheese. You must like cheese to enjoy this creamy, tasty, and beautiful white pizza.
The name of this traditional Italian pizza, quattro formaggi, literally means “four cheeses,” but the ingredients and types of cheese used can vary from pizzeria to pizzeria. They can use provolone, Parmigiano-Reggiano, mozzarella, stracchino, fontina, or Gorgonzola.
No matter which cheeses are used, this four-cheese pizza will make you want to lick your fingers clean.
9. Quattro stagioni
Quattro stagioni (“four seasons”) is another of the Italians’ favorite pizzas.
A four-seasoned pizza is a mix of intense flavors like mozzarella and tomato and a few different kinds of cheese.
This pizza has cooked ham, mushrooms, artichokes, and black olives. Sometimes, you can find small additions like anchovies or other local ingredients.
The most important thing about this pizza is where the toppings go. Each one must be put in its own quarter.
10. Capricciosa
Close to the quattro stagioni is the classic pizza capricciosa, which means “capricious” – a very apt name since its ingredients vary from pizzeria to pizzeria.
However, the ingredients are pretty much the same as those used in making quattro stagioni, except that the capricciosa usually doesn’t have olives, although again it depends on the pizzeria or restaurant that makes it. Some use black olives, others don’t. But the staples are tomato sauce, mozzarella, ham, and artichoke. For the most part, pizza capricciosa can have anchovies and cooked egg.
All of these ingredients are mixed together on a base of tomato sauce and mozzarella instead of being kept separate. This makes for a delicious blend of flavors.
- ALSO READ: 25 Best and Most Popular Italian Sauces
11. Focaccia Pugliese
Focaccia Pugliese, straight from the heart of Apulia, is next in line for the best authentic Italian pan pizza. It’s also known as Apulian or Barese focaccia, one of the best types of traditional Italian pizza.
It is popular throughout Apulia; you can find focaccia pizza with olives, capers, and anchovies stuffed into the dough. The focaccia pizza base is made using autolysis-like ancient kneading techniques.
Autolysis, also known as pain à l’ancienne, is a French technique for making baguettes. In this technique, you leave flour mixed with water for a night or a day. So, when we ferment the flour, the enzymes in the flour are activated by moisture, allowing for proper maturation.
12. Prosciutto e funghi
Prosciutto e funghi pizza is also about simplicity. It’s a ham and mushroom pizza turbocharged because it’s Italian-style.
The traditional ham combined with crimini mushrooms results in a very scrumptious pizza with a rich and strong flavor, making prosciutto e funghi one of the yummiest Italian pizza styles.
Prosciutto e funghi pizza is available in two varieties: with cooked ham or cured ham added after cooking.
13. Marinara
The secret to this traditional Italian pizza is its simplicity. Trying this pizza is a perfect way to test the quality of the dough and the ingredients at the pizzeria: tomato, garlic, oregano, and oil.
Have you ever wondered why, despite its “marine” name, nothing resembles the sea in the ingredients of a pizza marinara? On the other hand, the origin of the pizza marinara stems from the fact that the ingredients – all of which are easily preserved – were used by sailors on long voyages.
14. Pizza al taglio
Want to eat pizza by the slice instead of a whole pie? Try out pizza al taglio, also known as pizza al trancio. In English, it’s called “pizza by the slice” or “sheet pizza.”
You can cut a pizza slice to the size you want and pay by weight, then you eat it with your hands.
Pizza al taglio is a Roman-style pizza that happens to be a popular street food in Italy. Everywhere in the city, you can find pizza shops or small bakeries that sell this type of pizza.
15. Pizza Melanzane
“Melanzane” is the Italian word for eggplant or aubergine. As you might expect, it’s a delectable vegetarian pizza from Italy.
Aside from eggplant, pizza melanzane contains tasty vegetarian delights such as capsicum and potato. It uses Parmesan cheese. The eggplant and Parmesan combo is simply out of this world!
Some pizzerias grill the eggplant before topping the pizza with it. The authentic flavor comes from the cheese, which is frequently added after baking rather than before.
Apart from the roasted eggplant, pizza melanzane’s cheese crowns are topped with tomato, chili flakes, and fresh basil leaves.
16. Pizza alla Pala
Pizza alla pala is a unique Italian pizza from the region of Lazio, served on a paddle directly from the electric oven.
The pizza gets its name from the wooden board (or paddle) it’s done on – which means it’s not something you can eat by yourself; it’s meant to be shared.
This hearty pie is made with a long rising dough shaped like oval bread. The pizza is not hard because it is thick. It is soft and loaded with fresh toppings.