L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele

L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele, founded in 1870 by Michele Condurro, is one of the oldest and most doctrinally pure pizzerias in Naples, Italy, and the world. The menu has never wavered: two pizzas only, Margherita and marinara, prepared according to exacting Neapolitan tradition. This radical simplicity is a philosophical statement — the belief that mastery of a single thing is worth more than variety. The dough is made fresh daily, fermented slowly, stretched by hand, topped with San Marzano tomatoes (and buffalo mozzarella for the Margherita), and fired in a wood-burning oven at temperatures exceeding 450°C. The result is a pizza that consistently ranks among the finest examples of the form: a thin, soft centre, a cornicione with perfect char, and flavours of extraordinary clarity. Global fame arrived in earnest after Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir Eat, Pray, Love described a transcendent Margherita eaten here, bringing a wave of literary tourism to Via Cesare Sersale that has never entirely subsided. The dining room is simple and utilitarian — marble tables, white tiles, no tablecloths — reflecting the pizzeria's indifference to décor. Queues form before opening and can be long, but the system is orderly: numbered tickets are distributed, and the wait, however long, invariably feels worthwhile. Located near Piazza Garibaldi in Naples' centro storico, the pizzeria is a short walk from the train station.