AlwaysTraveling: Pizza & Poetry of Da Michele (Naples, Italy)

Arthur Bovino — May 18, 2009

The pizza of Da Michele has inspired glutton and poet alike.

For the pizza lover, a trip to L’Antica Pizzeria Da Michele in Naples, Italy, is the ultimate pilgrimage.

There’s little choice here. No extra toppings, just three types of Neapolitan-style pizza: the Marinara (sauce and crust), the Margherita (sauce, cheese, basil and crust), or the Margherita with extra cheese. Five Euros gets you a pizza and a bottle of Orangina within four minutes. Why is it so good? Without adding to the breathless account in Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Eat, Pray, Love”, it’s not hyperbolic to declare this will most likely be the best and most pure pizza you will ever eat. At Da Michele it’s about simplicity, quality and tradition.

Restaurant: L’Antica Pizzeria Da Michele (view site)
Address: Via Sersale Cesare, 1, 80139 Napoli, Italy (view map)
AlwaysHungry Grade: A+
AlwaysHungry Recommends: Everything.

The Condurro family has been making fantastic pizza in Naples since 1870. The story goes that Michele Condurro perfected the family art by learning the secrets of dough preparation, kneading and cooking from the pizza masters in Torre Annunziata, a suburb of Naples. In 1906, Michele opened his first pizzeria, which he was forced to move in 1930 to Via Cesare Sersale when the Ascalesi Hospital was under construction. His instructions and philosophy for making true Neapolitan pizza have been continued for five generations. Each component is the essence of what it is meant to be at its highest potential of being. These components interact in a sublime equation, their ratios perfect: charred to non-charred crust, crust to sauce, crust to cheese, and sauce to cheese— the Platonic ideal in pizza form.

Considering Da Michele’s pizzas are virtually edible poems themselves, it’s not surprising that poets were inspired to write about them. Two signs on the wall add to the simple décor (white walls and a religious statue overlooking the pizzaiolos). They feature poems dedicated to the pizzeria’s two types of pizza: ‘A Margarita (To the Margherita) by Gennaro Esposito (left), and ‘A Marinara (To the Marinara) by S. Galante (right). Esposito (1920-2004) was a popular poet who wrote in the Neapolitan dialect about social issues and his memories of “the old Naples.” Galante is harder to find information about, but both poets were said to have been frequent patrons of the pizzeria.

Included below are the poems and their approximate translations (care of Emily Bovino).

 

‘A Margarita		To the Margherita
‘A quando sta ‘o “benessere”		When everything goes ‘well’
‘A gente penza a spennere		People can think only of spending
E mò pure ‘o chiù povero		And even the poorest man
‘O siente é cumannà;		Feels the right to give orders;
Voglio una pizza a vongole		“I want a pizza with clams
Chiena é funghette e cozzeche		With mushrooms and mussels
Con gamberetti e ostriche		With shrimps and oysters
D‘ó mare ‘e sta città.		All from the sea of this city.
Al centro poi ce voglio		At the center I want
‘N’uovo datto alla cocca		An egg à la coq
E co liguore stok		With Stok Liquor
L’avita annaffià.		Sprinkled about.”
Quando sentenno st’ordine		When we heard this order
Ce venne cca’na stizza		We were taken aback
Penzanno ma sti pizze,		And we thought, “These pizzas,
Songo papocchie o che.		Are they disgusting, or what!?”
Ca se rispetta á regola		Here you have to respect the rule
Facenno á vera pizza,		And make the real thing,
Chella ch‘è nata a Napule		The pizza born in Naples
Quase cient’anne fa.		Almost 100 years ago.
Chesta ricetta antica		This ancient recipe
Si chiamma MARGARITA		It’s called MARGHERITA
Ca quanno è fatta arte		And when it’s done right
Po ghì nant‘á nu re.		You can present it to a king.
Perciò nun e cercate		So don’t go looking
Sti pizze complicate		For any complicated pizzas
Ca fanno male á sacca,		Which will only hurt your wallet
E ó stommaco patì.		And your stomach too.
Poesia di G. ESPOSITO		A poem of G. ESPOSITO

 

‘A Marinara		To the Marinara
Cu l’aglio, luoglio ê arecate		With garlic, oil and oregano,
Oppure a pummarola		Or else with tomato sauce,
Pare na cosa facile		It seems a walk in the park,
Fa’ a pizza é na parola.		But making pizza is no simple task
N’ce vo na pasta morbida		Nothing else but a soft dough,
S’adda sapè n’furná		Know-how ‘round the oven,
O gusto é chi pripara		Good taste in preparation
Pe nun ve n’tussucá		So that you don’t finish poisoned.
A pizza é nata a Napule		Pizza originated in Naples
Ma poche in’ dó mestiere		But few in this profession
Ve ponne da’ o’ piacere		Can give you the pleasure
E farvela mangiá		Of having you eat it well.
Surtanto Don Michele		Only Don Michele
Che’ fino pasticciere		Who is a master baker
Ve fa’ pizza splendida		Can make a pizza so splendid
Ca ve fa cunzula’.		That you’ll be consoled.
S. Galante		S. Galante