The Sorrentine Peninsula and the Invention of Pizza al Metro

The recipe was invented by Luigi Dell’Amura in the early 1950s and patented on 19 December 1960. Luigi, in his bakery in Vico Equense, created this pizza by chance (called "al metro", meaning "by the metre", by a journalist) and later opened a restaurant, which still exists today and is one of the most famous in the whole Sorrentine Peninsula.

by Alessia Giannino

Pizza al metro is one of the specialities of the Sorrentine Peninsula, which later spread to Naples and, subsequently, to the rest of Italy.

We're talking about “Pizza a Metro da Gigino - L’università della pizza” (Gigino's Pizza by the Metre - The University of Pizza), certainly the most popular pizzeria in Vico Equense: Neapolitans and tourists alike flock every day to what is the temple of pizza al metro. Gigino, in fact, represents the historic symbol of this dish.

Pizza a Metro University: the recipe of a speciality

Pizza al metro, and in particular Gigino's version, has a crisp, light dough and a unique flavour that's hard to find elsewhere. What's more, the restaurant is called the "University of Pizza" precisely because daily courses for professionals and amateurs alike are held there, taught by the venue's own excellent pizza makers.

The preparation of pizza al metro follows the same method as the traditional variety: the only difference lies in rolling out the dough to achieve a predetermined length. This, of course, also means that it has to be baked in a larger, longer wood-fired oven. As for the toppings, they can be prepared in the traditional way, but some people also like to get creative with different flavours; and that's not all. You can even have a pizza topped in several different ways at once, with each flavour separated from the next by a thin strip of dough. This way, you can try several variations in one go.

Many consider pizza al metro to be the forerunner of pizza al taglio (pizza by the slice): indeed, the two are very similar.

For pizza lovers, though, Gigino's pizza al metro is truly the ultimate experience.