Pizzeria Starita a Materdei

Pizzeria Starita a Materdei has been feeding the residents of Naples' working-class Materdei neighbourhood since 1901, making it one of the oldest continuously operating pizzerias in the city. Unlike many of its famous competitors concentrated in the centro storico, Starita sits at the heart of a residential district on the elevated hill above the historic centre, where local clientele has kept it honest and unpretentious for well over a century. The fritto menu is among the most celebrated in Naples: the pizza montanara — small rounds of dough fried and then briefly passed through the oven, topped with tomato and basil — is a Neapolitan invention that Starita has championed since before it became fashionable elsewhere. The cuoppo fritto, a paper cone of mixed fried street food including zeppoline and crocchè, is another highlight. The main pizza menu extends far beyond the classics, with speciality pizzas featuring local Campanian ingredients including provola affumicata, friarielli (Neapolitan wild broccoli rabe), and salsiccia. Celebrity visits have added glamour — Sophia Loren famously posed at Starita during the filming of a scene — but the real draw remains the consistent quality and the genuinely local atmosphere absent from more tourist-centric addresses. The dining room is spacious by Neapolitan pizza-joint standards, with capacity for large groups.