American pizza is not sold in Italy. Most importantly, Italian pizza is all about the bread, the "crust," whereas Americans seem to think pizza is primarily about the toppings and only use the bread layer as a vessel. This makes Italians particularly averse to American pizza.

We have two basic pizza styles.

Wood oven pizza

Pizza alla napoletana

This can be alla napoletana or a thinner alla romana. This is a single-serve pizza made with about 80 grams of very watery bread dough (durum wheat flour, water, yeast or sourdough, salt), lightly sprinkled with a tablespoon of passata, a few slices of mozzarella cheese , a few drops of extra-pressed olive oil and a few basil leaves.

A thinner, crispier pizza alla romana

The alla romana pizza is rolled, not drawn, flatter, and its edges are crispier, Thinner. I found it difficult to digest.

Both of these pizzas can only be baked in a traditional wood oven and are usually served in pizzerias, restaurant-style places that offer pizza and some sides (usually some vegetables and some dessert).

Pizzeria al Trancio in Naples

Pizza al trancio

Pizza cut into squares

Also known as al trancio La pala pizza is thicker, square or baked into a large round. They are a traditional pizza type food from Sicily and Apulia.

A slice from Atrancio's round pizza

These large squares are cut into smaller pieces and are most commonly served as handheld takeout food, usually served cold (at room temperature) . This type of pizza is commonly found in bakeries. Round pizza is usually grilled without toppings, or just with tomato sauce, then covered with toppings and briefly grilled to warm the pizza. Therefore, additional toppings can be added to each slice.

Two tegamino pizzas

A third style derived from the previous style is tegamino pizza, which was developed in Turin in the mid-twentieth century . They are essentially small round pizzas, like those that are cut into slices, but served in single portions. Again, the toppings are not the focus, the quality of the pizza is judged by the bread underneath it.