Giovanni Santarpia: a Firenze, la pizza più buona che ci sia

Enter the world of Giovanni Santarpia, the award-winning pizza chef who has made Florence a must-see destination for pizza lovers.

A night with Giovanni Santarpia and Monica Meschini – Food and Beverage International Consultant

Let's get this straight: bringing to your attention John Santarpia Nothing new is discovered. We are in fact talking about a very well-known Neapolitan pizza chef, Na street urchin, as he says, having been living in Tuscany for many years and famous for the high quality of his offerings: award-winning for a long time since Red shrimp with three segments (this year it is confirmed with 92 points), 61° in the world in Guide to the Best Pizzerias in the world 2024, 29th in the 50 Top Pizza Italy 2023, and the first (and only) Florentine pizzeria among the top one hundred. In short, we don't have to convince you of anything: the premises at Via Senese 155 (Due Strade) is the best of its kind in town. Period.

What we will do today, if anything, is trying to understand man, even before becoming a professional: how does one become number one? Is it just through work, or is there more to it? What is the path to success?, and what and how many obstacles must be overcome? In this effort to understand, we are supported by a well-known Food and Beverage International Consultant, Monica Meschini, which will best represent our eyes, nose and palate in tastings and samplings.

Giovanni Santarpia, mastro pizzaiolo a Firenze

Easy-going place, which simply complements Her Majesty's Neapolitan pizza.

The new venue in Santarpia (from 2020), at the gates of Florence, it can be reached very well, and there's certainly no shortage of parking nearby. First point in its favor. Then you go inside: smiles, courtesy, speedThe people are lively and welcoming, and you immediately understand each other. You sit down and study the menu. Everything is simple and easy, with a convivial, informal atmosphere and contemporary furnishings. It doesn't get much better than this.

Lupulus, the wolf beer that will accompany our dishes

Monica Meschini chooses for us Lupulus (obviously the assonance with hops), Belgian beer, unfiltered, which on the label features a cute wolf pet. The dominant one is bread flavor which goes perfectly with pizza dough. From particularly floral and spicy notes – he explains to us – at the beginning you can feel the Bulgarian rose, the Damask rose, to then continue with a powdery sensation of coriander seeds. On the palate, spices and hops, but very sweet.

Pizza in cottura del mastro pizzaiolo Giovanni Santarpia

Santarpia at the very beginning

While we sip the excellent beer, John Santarpia He tells us in brief his long and rich life story. From humble origins – he defines himself as a street boy – at 14 he began working in a pizza by the slice (Pizzeria Royal), on the advice of his father. After a few months of "hard work," an elderly man, Shipped, which the boys called zI'm Shipped (Uncle Spedito), teaches him how to be a pizza chef in a basic but effective way, first with the dough by hand, then using the mixer. Thanks zI'm Shipped for having trained this culinary champion, we might add.

Here are the appetizers

In the meantime (excellent speed) the rhythmic appetizers: in sequence, the montanarina – that is, the fried pizza dough – classic, with tomato sauce “Gustarosso”, flakes of salted ricotta, basil sauce; then the montanarina with mortadella, burrata and pistachio; and finally, the third tasty appetizer: fried polenta with cheese.

Panzerotti del mastro pizzaiolo Giovanni Santarpia

Santarpia: From Capri to Tuscany

Ours continues passionate conversation with Giovanni Santarpia. So, having learned the trade, in '91, still very young, he went to work for six months in Capri, in the pizzeria Lo scacchiera, a tough job, but certainly useful for his training. In '92, tired of being a pizza chef, he lent his services for two months to a tomato factory, and then return to being a pizza chef, given that the working conditions are even more severe. So the summer seasons resume again at the Pizzeria Royal, his “first love”. From there he moves to Calabria, then to Pescara, until reaching, in '96, Vicchio di Mugello, In the Lago Viola local, where they play live blues music (the owner is a bluesman).

The first two pizzas arrive

Always following the choices of Monica Meschini, with the first pizza we go for the classic: Margherita pizza with Gustarosso tomatoes, Casolare's fior di latte and basil. Excellent, ça va sans dire. So it's the turn of the Pizza Parmigiana 2.0, with eggplant cream, baked eggplant, Piennolo cherry tomatoes, fior di latte from “Il Casolare”, basil pesto, and a crispy parmesan wafer. Delicious.

Pizza del mastro pizzaiolo Giovanni Santarpia

Santarpia and his love for Tuscany have earned him the Gambero Rosso 3-segment award.

Let's go back to the intense life of John SantarpiaAfter a new brief interlude in Capri, the street urchin returns to Tuscany, his land of choice, but this time in Florence and, specifically for the summer season, in San Donato in CollinaIn 2000 he worked as an employee in a restaurant in Tavarnelle in Val di Pesa, and then, in 2007, finally came the professional turning point: he opened the Palazzo Pretorio Restaurant, in San Donato in Poggio.

However, the period unfortunately coincides with the beginning of the global economic crisis, and things are getting more and more difficult for him. He even thinks about quitting when, in 2009, he meets a series of people who will be crucial to his professional history, such as Martin Range, Sabino Berardino (Mococonut Gorge) and Elena Farinelli, from the blog I love Florence. Their positive reviews contribute from 2010 onwards to bring many more people to the restaurant, until, after having attracted many more in the following years food and beverage expert, including the same Monica Meschini, in 2013 does not get the 2 slices of Gambero Rosso and, from 2014 onwards, the three segments.

Let's enjoy 2 more excellent pizzas from Santarpia

Always thanking the enlightened choices by Monica Meschini, now let's taste Pizza on Black Street, with baked aubergine, fior di latte from “Il Casolare”, finocchiona, pecorino fondue, toasted Piedmontese hazelnuts; and followed bySummer, with creamed zucchini, fior di latte from "Il Casolare", strips of speck, fried zucchini, and Apulian burrata. What can I say? Delicious. Inviting, light, flavorful.

Giovanni Santarpia descends upon Florence as a triumphant figure

In 2015 our man opened a place in Florence that bears his name: SantarpiaHe will work there until 2018, the year in which he will separate from his former partners and then, in 2020, start again in thecurrent location at Due Strade which instead adopts the full name and surname: John Santarpia.

Obviously the ill-fated year 2020 brings to mind the Covid period. Incredible, but after his difficult first start, in 2007, with the economic crisis beginning to try to sink the Palazzo Pretorio restaurant, here comes another complicated opening. And what a complication, considering the lockdown and the great difficulties, even just of getting around, which we all remember very well. But the young man, forged in the asphalt and concrete of the road, accustomed to face any problem he stands in front of him, he doesn't get discouraged, and he manages to get through this difficult moment unscathed, thanks to the home deliveries.

The rest is history, in new great rise, of our days.

The secret of Santarpia's pizza for Santarpia

One could replicate certain now very commonplaces by arguing that the secret of Santarpia pizza it's all in the excellent flours, in the continuous experimentation, in the'high-quality dough, in the highly digestible (fundamental aspect) that derives from it, but we would risk at least being banal. And then let's say that the secret of the best pizza in Florence lies in the love, in the passion with which it is achieved, not only by him, but by the whole kitchen brigade, a true united family, smiling, friendly, and focused on a single goal: quality.

“Do you know what the most beautiful thing is? – Santarpia underlines – That in my boys I see thelove for what they do. Always available, smiling, they are having fun, they arrive half an hour early and leave an hour later, or even more. At the end of the evening we take a beer together, we chat, we exchange views, opinions. Aalways pleasant atmosphere, familiar, of great sharing, aharmony which we manage to transfer into the pizza and, humanely, to the customer.

The secrets of Santarpia pizza according to Monica Meschini

“For me Santarpia's pizza is the best in Florence because that's what my stomach digests very well and quickly. – he confides to us Monica Meschini – Here I can eat two pizzas and not feel the heaviness the same evening, despite thebeer accompaniment, even with draft beers, I might add. Another determining factor is that whether Giovanni is present in the place or not makes little difference, because the staff training He remains obsessive, always fully respecting his own desires. His beliefs never change, even if Giovanni is away for an event or other commitments.

Well, ours wonderful experience at Giovanni Santarpia's restaurant It ends here, but its excellent pizzas continue to be churned out continuously. TuscanyPeople sincerely thanks the our guest, together with Monica Meschini, for the exquisite welcome and for the precious time that both of them dedicated to us. As for the pizzeria, this time we abstain from the best of luck for the future because it certainly doesn't need it, in fact, we recommend everyone to book well in advance, because it's not that easy to find a place.

Other excellent Tuscan pizzerias

For those who are not in Florence, but always in Tuscany, these are the pizzerias with Gambero Rosso's 3 segments for 2024:

'O Scugnizzo, in Arezzo; the Dani's shop, in Cecina; the Bean, in Colle Val D'Elsa; The Spela, in Greve in Chianti; the Giovannini Apogee, in Pietrasanta; Ginger Pizza Inn, in Pisa; The Pergola, in Radicondoli; The Fan, in Rosignano Marittimo; and Battil'Oro Fires + Yeasts + Spirits, in Seravezza. The Three Wheels if he wins the pizzeria Menchetti from Arezzo, which also earns a star for achieving this excellence for the tenth consecutive year.

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Photo by Hemant Latawa on Unsplash