Pizza Styles Guide
48 styles with their toppings, their origin and the disputes pizzaioli still argue about — from the two AVPN-recognised classics through the regional Italian repertoire to American and modern formats.
At a glance
There are dozens of officially named pizza styles, from the two the AVPN recognises (Margherita and Marinara) through regional Italian classics such as Sfincione and Pizza al Taglio to American formats like New York and Detroit and modern approaches like Canotto and Contemporary. This guide covers 48 of them, each with its toppings, its origin and the disputes it still provokes.
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Frequently asked
What makes a pizza "AVPN certified"?
AVPN (Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana) is a Naples-based association that certifies pizzerias adhering to strict Neapolitan tradition: 00 flour, San Marzano tomatoes, fior di latte or mozzarella di bufala, a wood-fired oven at ~485°C, and a bake time of 60–90 seconds. Only two pizzas are officially recognised: Margherita and Marinara. See the Neapolitan style guide for the full technical profile.
Is Neapolitan pizza the same as Italian pizza?
No. Neapolitan is one specific style from Naples, defined by a soft, wet, quickly-baked dough. Italy has dozens of regional pizza traditions — Roman al taglio, Sicilian sfincione, Genovese focaccia, Pugliese, and modern hybrids like Canotto and Contemporary — each with their own dough, hydration, and baking method.
What's the difference between Roman and Neapolitan pizza?
Neapolitan pizza is soft, puffy, and baked in 60–90 seconds at ~485°C, producing a pillowy cornicione. Roman pizza comes in two forms: pizza tonda (thin, crisp, dry), and pizza al taglio (rectangular, sold by weight, higher hydration, baked in an electric oven). Compare the Neapolitan profile against the wider tradition covered in contemporary Italian styles.
Why is Detroit-style pizza rectangular?
Detroit pizza is baked in blue-steel automotive drip pans, originally sourced from local factories in the 1940s. The rectangular pan geometry produces the signature caramelised cheese edge (the frico crust) where Wisconsin brick cheese is pushed to the pan walls. See the Detroit style guide for pan specs and dough hydration.
Is Chicago deep-dish really pizza?
By construction it's closer to a savoury pie than to Neapolitan pizza — a buttery cornmeal crust pressed into a deep pan, filled with cheese, chunky tomato, and toppings inverted from the usual order. Chicagoans call it pizza; Italian purists disagree. Both are correct in their own tradition. The dispute is older than most people alive today.
Is pineapple on pizza (Hawaiian) authentic?
The Hawaiian was invented in 1962 by Sam Panopoulos, a Greek-Canadian pizzaiolo in Chatham, Ontario — not in Hawaii and not in Italy. It's authentic Canadian, not Italian. Italian tradition doesn't recognise it, but denying it is 'pizza' at this point is a losing argument: it's on menus worldwide. Whether you order it is a matter of taste, not tradition.