Let’s start from below
Our fried pizza is a very popular product in Naples (made right on the streets in typical houses with direct access to alleys) also known as ‘o vascio.’ Since Naples and southern seaside towns have a very mild climate, these small dwellings are a very common feature where life is spent mostly on the street.
Cooking and frying with flour is a very old method, probably older than baking because it is less expensive. Fried pizza was a trend in Naples after the War because not everyone could afford an oven. In addition, it was difficult to procure products like tomatoes and mozzarella. Alternatives for the poor were ricotta and ‘pork scratching’ (curls of pork fat) as these products were much cheaper for many to get by. In fact, there is a famous scene in ‘The Gold of Naples’ movie where a character (a seller of fried pizza) was franticly looking for the ring that his unfaithful wife, Sophia Loren, claimed to have lost in the fried pizza dough mix.
Fried pizza today
Fried pizza has a soul deeply-rooted in the most cherished landscape of Naples. Products like the classic Neapolitan pizza (cooked in the oven) have now reached an international dimension. In urban developments, large trays full of oil have almost entirely disappeared. Fortunately, the great success of “street food” is bringing this Extraordinary product of fried pizza to its new youth in Naples.
