After settling in at our boutique hotel, located in the Centro Storico, prime pizza territory, we’ll head up the hill to a private rooftop terrace overlooking Naples and the bay with Vesuvius on the horizon. From this vantage point, and with an aperitivo in hand, we’ll discuss the week’s plans and get to know each other. As the sun sets, we’ll head to our first pizza of the week, at Pizzeria La Notizia, where we will meet the famed chef and pizza guru, Enzo Coccia. 

We’ll spend our morning in the lively market streets of Porta Capuana, where multi-generational family businesses remain the backbone of the local food scene. We’ll visit artisanal producers, bakeries and small neighborhood restaurants to get a taste of the city and its vibrant street life before taking a pizza break at one of the city’s favorite pizzerias. As we digest, we’ll then visit some of the cultural attractions of the old city, including the Chapel of San Severo. Depending on our stamina, we may finish our day with more pizza, or at least a gelato.

After breakfast, we'll visit the ruins of Herculaneum, near Pompeii, to tour its ancient communal ovens, shockingly well-preserved by the volcanic eruption that struck the area 2,000 years ago. We'll then head to local institution La Masardona for fresh-from-the-fryer pizza fritta made by Enzo Piccirillo, the master of the house. From there we'll begin our exploration of the pizza’s building blocks with a visit to the Caputo flour mill, supplier to the top pizzerias in town and beyond. We'll hear the history of this family business from the current generation running it, visit the flour lab with Mauro Caputo, and tour production areas normally closed to the public. After a break we'll reconvene for dinner – a brief respite from pizza – to dig into the world of Neapolitan seafood dishes at a beloved local restaurant.

Our deep dive into the pizza’s essential elements continues! After breakfast, we head to the hills around Vesuvius to visit a cannery producing top-grade tomatoes for the pizza market. We'll have a quick coffee and learn about their work before getting a behind-the-scenes tour of the canning facility. After the tour, we'll join some of the cannery's pro tasters as they cut open fresh San Marzano DOP tomatoes and standard whole tomatoes to compare the difference. For lunch we'll head to the small town of Vico Equense to eat at one of the region's finest pizzerias. We'll then return to Naples for a rest ahead of dinner, which will be at the destination pizzeria Pepe in Grani, located in a village outside of town. Helmed by third-generation pizzaiolo Franco Pepe, a master of both tradition and innovation, the restaurant is a true pilgrimage site for pizza lovers.

Skip breakfast at the hotel because we’re headed out for a special treat – the iconic sfogliatelle pastry made at bakery Attanasio. Unlike most sfogliatelle around town, which are made from factory-produced pastry sheets, these are handmade in-house, and it makes all the difference in the world. From here we’re heading north of Naples to visit Lupara, a dairy farm and mozzarella producer. Here we’ll meet the farm’s herd of prodigiously productive water buffalo and have a hands-on mozzarella-making workshop followed by a tasting of their sublime products. Lunch will be at another destination pizzeria outside of town, I Masanielli. Run by the colorful Francesco Martucci, the pizzeria is regularly cited as among the best in the world. Back in Naples, we’ll have the night free to rest and relax or track down another pizza on your own.

After a week of exploration, we'll be ready to put our knowledge to the test and enter the kitchen. For our grand finale, we'll be hosted at the official pizza-makers school of Naples for a hands-on master class in pizza-making. Get ready to get covered in flour and dough and we learn from true Neapolitan pizza experts. After our class, we'll lunch on the fruits of our labor fresh out of the oven and then enjoy a break in the afternoon.

We know there's always room for one more pizza, but tonight, our final dinner will be a house party at the home of a local cook and her treasured family pasta recipes. There will be a big pot of ragu bubbling in the kitchen, a singer of Neapolitan songs at the table, and wines from vineyards on the slopes of Vesuvius flowing at a gathering of all the friends we've made throughout the week.

Our pilgrimage, sadly, must come to an end. Until the next pizza!