Memories of Napoli: Part 1

About half way through my fall trip to Italy, The Mixmaster and I traveled to Napoli (Naples), a small town a few hours away from Rome. We weren't spending much time there, as we were on our way to the Pompeii ruins, but knowing that Napoli has some of the best pizza in Italy, and probably the world, a stop for a pie seemed like an absolute necessity. In Italy, most of the places we went to sold individual pies and not slices; they baked them for you fresh, and often in a wood burning oven. On our first day in Rome, we were amazed to be presented with what would be about the size of a Canadian "small" pizza, per person! But with all the walking, sometimes for 8 hours or more a day, we quickly got used to the increased portions. Italian pizzas are often lighter on the cheese, and it is focalized in the middle of the pie. But one thing that our palates quickly discerned to be the difference between Canadian and Italian pizzas (besides the thin, crispy crust) was the sauce.
Most North American pizzas that I've had, including the fabled New York pizza, seem to use ground tomatoes spiced with herbs for their sauce. The sauces in Italy were tangier, lighter in taste and colour. We soon realized that they were either made from scratch from ripe tomatoes, which don't have the sweet-ish taste of ground tomatoes, or they were made from canned plum tomatoes, pulsed in a blender with herbs. It made a world of a difference.
So, having disembarked from our train, we knew where we wanted to go, Pizzeria Gino Sorbillo (Via dei Tribunali 32, 081-446643), but not how to get there. And the circuitous streets and narrow lanes of Napoli took some getting used to. We finally arrived at our Pizzeria, a little testy with each other, and with our bellies growling. The pizzas at Gino Sorbillo were everything that the guide book said that they might be. There were a multitude of choices, exciting combinations, with prices ranging from 2.50 euros to about 8.00 euros. I had the Pugliese, with capricciosa, pomodoro, mozzarella, olive, prosciutto, funghi, and carciofini for 6 euros. It was as yummy and flavourful (with a smoky taste due to the well cured meats) as my hastily snapped photo suggests.
Oh, and on the walk to your next destination, you might want to pick up some famous fried risotto and cheese balls, at Di Matteo, located on the same street at number 94. They always have a crowd waiting patiently for them, and they are one of the things that Napoli is known for.
So, how does one go from Italian pizza with all it's tastes and textures to Pizza Pizza (note that there's no link...)? In part two of my post, I will detail, with recipes, my attempts at the perfect home pizza (which I made for a recent anniversary with a certain special someone).