Mega guide to the best pizzerias in Italy according to Gambero Rosso

Anyone who has observed the gastronomic world for at least two decades will remember the impact of the Spanish wave on haute cuisine: it was then – with the decisive contribution of Adrià – that it became clear everyone could have a voice in global gastronomy, not only France with its sauces or Italy with its grand traditions. From there came an avalanche: after Spain, which had focused on technique, South America began exploring its own biodiversity. Then Denmark, with the “Nordic food” of Noma. Forgotten products were rediscovered, others never tasted before came to light, new productions were encouraged and local suppliers gained fresh energy: autarchy became a banner.

A journey from Naples to the world

And pizza, what has it got to do with this? Well, pizza today represents the banner of local, agricultural and territorial discourse. In a country like Italy, where local produce is a root and not a recent discovery, pizza in its first growth phase represented a sort of exception. From a homemade preparation and a moment of family sharing during the bread baking, pizza took off as a restaurant product from Naples: this is what has distinguished the city of Partenope (by the way, best wishes!) over the last two centuries, having pizza as an out-of-home food and the pizzaiolo as a profession.

It was inevitable, therefore, that from the city began the wave that carried pizza around the world, with its pizzaioli and the products dear to them: in short, Naples travelled with the whole package. So in the initial growth phase, in which Neapolitan-style pizza spread (from the 1950s onwards), it was natural that Neapolitan flours, vegetables, dairy products and preserves ended up on pizza (even the water, when possible). Natural, until about twenty years ago, when the discourse of locality began to emerge in the world of cuisine and territories began to enter the pizza scene.

Pizzerie d’Italia 2026 by Gambero Rosso. The story of identities, beyond the scores

Every area that preserves a strong gastronomic and productive pride today finds more resonance in pizza than in haute cuisine: in the privilege of creating a true and collective guide, in which listening to territories is a fundamental starting point of critical work, this is what we have been reflecting on for some years. Don’t stop at the scores! In the 564 pages of Pizzerie d’Italia 2026 by Gambero Rosso (available in bookshops, newsagents and online), we tell above all their stories: Valmarecchia and Belìce, Lessinia and the Parco Agricolo Sud, Valle Caudina and Agro Pontino, Calabria (which has shifted into turbo), Maremma, Garda, Langhe, Monti Lattari, Aurunci and the Murge. And the identities that gradually awaken in the form of doughs: the ruota di carro of the alleys and the crunchy round Roman style, the new – which is then ancient – thin pizza of Apulia, or the aromatic pride of Tramonti.

The historical forms of pizza

In the guide you will find dedicated sections on the historical forms of pizza, that is, the variations of leavened dough that have most deeply taken root in different Italian regions, together with the updated list of the oldest establishments in Naples: there are the Turin padellino and the Milanese slice, the Roman pizza alla pala and the pizza al metro from Vico Equense. Pizza is truly a wonderful journey. And, with all this history behind it, it has only just begun.

The numbers and the award winners

The selection of this edition of the Pizzerie d’Italia guide – the thirteenth – includes 816 establishments, with a strong turnover that sees as many as 134 new entries in the guide. Numerous also the award winners: 100 Tre Spicchi and 18 Tre Rotelle (the highest recognition respectively for “al piatto” pizzerias and for “by the slice” or takeaway pizzerias). At the top of the Tre Spicchi, with 97 points, once again Franco Pepe with Pepe in Grani (Caiazzo), alongside I Tigli by Simone Padoan (San Bonifacio). Leading the Tre Rotelle, instead, is Pizzarium by Gabriele Bonci (Rome), with 96 points. There are 34 Stelle, the venues that have received Tre Spicchi or Tre Rotelle for at least 10 consecutive years.