The birthplace of pizza. Where’s that, you ask? It’s in Naples, Italy, of course! This breathtaking city is home to the famous pie and attracts travelers from all over the world with the most authentic pizza you’ll ever have. Visiting Naples for its pizza is like having Kung Pao chicken in China, spring rolls in Vietnam, kimchi in Korea or pierogi in Poland. Naples is an amazing and lively city, and you’ll be surprised that pizza isn’t the only specialty for visitors to try. Read on for a preview of what kind of food to expect in Naples.
Pizza
Because Naples is the birthplace of pizza, there’s no shortage of restaurants where you can sample this world famous pie. The best way to overcome this overwhelming feeling of where to get “the best pizza” is to get some recommendations from locals or friends. Once you get a taste of the original pizza, it might just change your world. These pizzas come hot and crispy, straight from a brick oven, with the aromatic scent of the burning wood. This is how pizza is supposed to be made and this is how I like it: flat, with three simple flavors and hot; no wonder Queen Margherita liked this famous pie so much.
(Photo: Runaway Juno)
One great tip to keep in mind while trying pizza in Naples is to plan to eat more than one pizza. Not in one meal, of course, but I recommend getting a taste of different flavors and different restaurants when touring Naples. There are just so many variations you can try thanks to the different types of ingredients that can go on this scrumptious dish. However, I recommend starting with the traditional Neapolitan pizza: pizza marinara and pizza Margherita, all based on tomatoes and Mozzarella cheese. An interesting fact about these ingredients: the tomatoes are grown in the volcanic regions, south of Mount Vesuvius, and Mozzarella Bufala is made with the milk from water buffalo raised in the marshlands in a semi-wild state.
Pastries
After stuffing yourself full of pizza, be sure to follow up with Naples’ famous pastries: Babà and Sfogliatella. Babà is a fluffy cake (typically cream or chocolate) soaked in rum. In the Naples region, Babà is an endearing term for the people you like; so if you hear “You’re such a Babà” from someone, don’t worry–it’s a good thing.
(Photo: Runaway Juno)
Sfogliatella is a layered pastry filled with ricotta cheese and cream with citrus flavor. Its texture is similar to a croissant, but slightly stiffer; and the sound of breaking these pastry layers is one of the best things about sfogliatella. If you’re worried about finding a place that sells these delectable pastries, there’s absolutely no need to worry. Many shops sell these pastries on the small streets of Naples, and chances are, you’ll likely find at least one shop selling them on every street.
Lemoncello
Once you arrive in Naples, you might become curious about these bottles filled with a mysterious, bright yellow liquid being sold in shops all around the city. This yellow liquid is lemoncello, a lemon liqueur produced mainly in southern Italy, made from Sorrento lemons steeped in grain alcohol until the oil from lemon is released. Interestingly, it’s the second most popular liqueur in Italy and the yellow color is actually the result of a syrup that is mixed after the liqueur is done steeping.
(Photo: skampy)
Traditionally, lemoncello is served chilled after dinner. Nowadays, this tradition has been carried into other parts of Italy and all around the world. In fact, North America, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand are some of the countries that use lemoncello in their drinks.
Naples is a city famous for being the birthplace of pizza, but as a city full of life and culture, you can’t miss out on other surprises that you’ll encounter.
