Campania

Campania is where pizza comes from! Also known for its ancient ruins and dramatic coastline, this region in the middle of the country along the western coastline is home to both major cities and picturesque landscapes. It is the most visited Italian region, largely due to the iconic Mt. Vesuvius and the deep blue waters of the Golfo di Napoli. To the south, the Amalfi Coast is home to pastel-hued towns such as Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello, nestled between cliffs and the sea.        

The Campanian capital is Napoli (known in English as Naples), the birthplace of pizza. It was here, centuries ago, that bakers began using tomatoes and salumi to top flatbreads for a cheap, hearty meal. And in 1889, Neapolitan pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito invented the Margherita pizza to honor Margherita of Savoy, the queen consort of Italy. The basil, mozzarella, and tomatoes on the pizza represent the red, white, and green colors of the Italian flag. 

Campania is also the pasta-making center of Italy. Small towns outside Napoli like Gragnano and Torre Annunziata have been home to artisan pasta manufacturers since the early 1900s when the first bronze die pasta machines were invented. Today, the best pasta is still made here from minimally processed semolina flour and air-dried in the cool, salt-tinged breezes that blow in through wild rosemary bushes from the Mediterranean coast.

Over on the Amalfi coast, seafood rules in the kitchen, from the classic fried appetizer fritto misto to delicious seafood pasta dishes like linguine allo scoglio. Both make full use of the delicious bounty of the sea and can be modified to use whatever was caught that day: squid, mussels, shrimp, redfish, sea bream, and more.

From the best-dried pasta you’ve ever tried to all the ingredients needed to make your own perfect Neapolitan pizza, Giadzy brings the flavors of Campania to you.