World’s Toughest Job

At the world headquarters of Insightful Travels and Tours we take pizza seriously.  We also lead trips to Italy and we do a lot of difficult, back-breaking research for our dear readers.

For example we took a recent trip to Italy to prep for an upcoming tour.  As part of this experience your fearless tour guides sampled a range of Pizza from around the peninsula.

Great looking Pizza spot in Trastevere, Rome.

Most Americans who take a trip to Italy want to try the pizza but what should you look for?  Where are the tourist traps? You want authentic pizza from the right kind of oven made by someone who cares about it.

Unparalleled Expertise with a Couple of DRIPS

Wes is a pizza aficionado and I like to think of myself as a “pizza whisperer”.  For this exercise we sampled three pizzas from three different Italian cities and rated them on a 1-10 scale (Davenport-Raynor Index of Pizza Ratings) or other wise known as DRIP.

We have no bias towards real Italian Pizza…no food snobbery here.  We also love American pizza and we will never become to culinarily sophisticated to enjoy a slice of Papa John’s, Dominos or in an emergency Little Caesars. It’s all in the context.

Yes…Those are Sardines

For our drip ratings we used several factors to determine pizza quality in Italy

• We used a 10 point scale with 1 being lousy and 10 being awesomeness.
• Visual Appearance of the Pizza
• Quality of Crust (right balance of chewy and crunchy)
• Toppings (cheese, sauce)
• Flavor

What Do I Need to Know about Pizza in Italy?

The Locations

We focused on the major tourist spots in Italy. Four pizzerias across Rome, Florence and Naples.

Rome- Forno

The name translates to “oven” and they have a good one that churns out spectacular pizza.  Pizza in Rome is thinner than in Naples.  Try their Pizza Bianca which is a simple and very clean pizza.  Great crust texture.

Forno doesn’t have seats or tables so you will get it in a brown wrapper so that you can stroll around the Campo di Fiori and munch on some of Rome’s best pizza.

Forno’s final DRIP score: Davenport=8, Raynor=9

Details:

• What?  Forno
• Where?  Campo di Fiori (walk up no tables)
• Cost? Around 2 Euro for a slice
• Metro?  Too much trouble.  Walk or take a bus

Florence Pizza-I Ghibellini

Each time I visit Florence I always make my way to this place.  Nice seating inside and out they have great pizzas.  Each pizza can be easily split between two people and they have some really delightfully tacky paintings of the Florence skyline inside.

Slightly thicker than its Roman counterpart this pizza places a real emphasis on the chewy side of the spectrum.  We were thoroughly impressed with the quality of the cheese and herbs.  This is a good place to check on your next trip to Florence.

I Ghibellini’s delightful Pizza

I Ghibellini final DRIP score: Davenport=9, Raynor=8

Details:

• What?  I Ghibellini,
• Where?  Piazza di San Pier Maggiore, 8, Florence, Italy
• Cost? 16-20 Euro per person with salad/drinks etc. for lunch
• Metro?  None. Walk
• Web: www.ighibellini.com

Naples- Da Michele

When you wade through the richness of Naples you will find a city that is invigorating and slightly disconcerting.  With each visit I like Naples a little bit more and I religiously make a stop at Da Michele.

They will tell you they invented the pizza and I am fine with that.  They have the goods to back up their bragging since this is the best I’ve ever had…period.  Apparently there is a belief that the PH content in the water of Naples is perfect for making pizza dough.  I’m no scientist but there is an unbelievable quality to the crust with balance of crusty and chewy.  Just enough olive oil and marinara and baked to perfection.

Be ready for a healthy dose of Italian chaos when you try to navigate the crowds surrounding this place.  There is seating inside but don’t expect a lot of “service”.  If there are major lines then just elbow your way in and place a to go order.

Da Michele  final DRIP score: Davenport=9, Raynor=10

Details:

• What?  Da Michele
• Where?  Via Cesare Sersale, 1, 80139 Naples, Italy
• Cost? 8-12 Euro per person with drink
• Metro?  None. Easy walk from the Train station
• Web: damichele.net

Have you tried these places?  Do you have a better recommendation for pizza in Florence, Rome or Naples?  Please let us know below in the comments!