Pizzeria Port’alba – from 1738

The pizza, as we know it today, is a Neapolitan invention, of which all Neapolitans are rightfully proud. Many are the theories of pizza’s origins, but it’s quite certain that this little round and tasteful slice’s history can be dated back to the early 18th century. Very close to the central Piazza Dante you’ll find Naples’ oldest pizzeria, Pizzeria Port’alba. Way back in 1738, this pizzeria started as a laboratorio di pizza, i.e. a pizza bakery. Here the local pizza vendors came to pick up pizzas which they then sold on streets and alleys in Naples. Only in 1830 – a mere 31 years before the unification of Italy – Port’alba was transformed into a real pizzeria. The owner, Gennaro Luciano, proudly tells us that a large number of celebrities – former Italian president Francesco Crispi, philosopher and author Benedetto Croce, writer and politician Gabriele d’annunzio and the famous Neapolitan poet Salvatore Di Giacomo – throughout time have paid frequent visits to the old pizzeria. And recently, even Italy’s prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has placed his powerful teeth in one of Port’alba’s historical pizzas. One thing you should know, however, before enjoying a pizza in Naples: once you’ve taken a bite, a pizza anywhere else in the world will never taste the same.

Via Port’alba, 18, 80134 Napoli NA