[The Best Pizza in the World – Florence Italy – July 2010]
This week a year ago I attended an amazing conference on creativity in Florence, Italy [http://www.creativityworkshop.com/florence.html], where my friends and I explored, played, and shook our imaginations awake to bathe in the summer glory of the warm, golden light of Florence. One night, I had an amazing dinner with another conference attendee – we met on the picturesque medieval bridge, the Ponte Vecchio crossed the Arno, and walked the streets of the Oltrano neighborhood, looking in at tiny boutiques and pausing to talk about dreams and ideas in busy plazas with gurgling fountains.
She took me to a little pizza shop on the corner of two tiny, twisty cobbled roads. We smelled the sauce and yeasty bread aromas of good, fresh pizza and we heard the vibrant chatter of the patrons before we even saw the awnings. She ordered in Italian, arms waving as she discussed the menu in a passionate trilling conversation with one of the proud, smiling owners. We sat at a round, communal table and ate with an middle-aged man reading a magazine and two young lovers who paused between bites of pizza and sips of wine to kiss and cuddle. Under the glass table top were messages written on scraps of paper and receipts in a million different languages – quotes, advice, praise of pizza, love messages. The pizza was a divine mix of salty capers, melty fresh mozzarella, and a simple, perfect sauce on a crispy, chewy crust.
What a wonderful night full of all the sensory delights of Italy! For me this is the Shangri-la Italian pizza eateries. I’ve shown this photo and told this story to many different people and I’m often asked what the name of the establishment is, but (in the flurry of good conversation and the magic of an evening in Florence) I forgot to write it down. I have no idea what the name of this pizza shop is but I do cherish the memories of a wonderful week and amazing evening – that and a good photo that still makes me drool. 🙂
In joy,
Melinda
UPDATE! MYSTERY SOLVED!
The fabulous pizza restaurant described above is named Gusta Pizza! Special thanks and my enduring gratitude go out to Courtney Pardini who wrote in with the following: “I studied abroad in Florence last fall and my roommates and I spent quite a few nights enjoying the amazingness of Gusta =).”
- Gusta Pizza on the Interwebs: Click here for more reviews, photos, and video of Gusta Pizza!
- Gusta Pizza Hours: Monday-Saturday 11:30am-3pm & 7pm-11:30pm
- Gusta Pizza Location: Via Maggio, 46 — 50125 Florence, Italy (Oltrano District – a quick and lovely walk from the Ponte Vecchio)
- Gusta Pizza Phone Number: 055 285068
Planning a trip to Florence? Be sure to add Gusta Pizza to your itinerary!