From Pupillo Pura Pizza to Tintarella, the story of a talented young pizza maker who tells the story of Agro Pontino and the Lepini Mountains through his creative pizzas.
Class of 1991, Luca Mastracci was born and raised in Priverno, a small town in the province of Latina, in the Lepini Mountains. He took his first steps in the pizza business at the age of 20, in 2012, behind the counter of "Il Capriccio", in San Felice Circeo (LT), as the first pizzaiolo in a Roman pizzeria, where he worked for two years.
Mastracci began as a self-taught pizzaiolo, studying and experimenting with doughs and raw materials, refining a pizza close to the Neapolitan style, but decidedly outside the clichés, with its own character and personality. In 2016, he accepted a consulting offer in Dublin, then left for Sardinia for a two-month training in pan pizza at Massimo Bosco's, and in 2017 he arrived at Pier Daniele Seu's station at the Mercato Centrale Roma.
In October 2017, Luca Mastracci's career took an important development with the opening of his first pizzeria in Priverno, together with two partners: Pupillo Pura Pizza. The pizzas offered at the restaurant are round, with a melting center, a high, slightly crispy crust, covered with well-balanced and, above all, seasonal toppings. Through its pizzas, "Pupillo" has begun to tell a story, that of the Lepini Mountains, valuing small local producers and also selecting lesser known artisanal raw materials.
In 2018, Pupillo Pura Pizza won the Due Spicchi Gambero Rosso and the Special Award as Emerging Pizzaiolo, and was also included among the excellent pizzerias in 50 Top Pizza. In January 2019, Mastracci, together with his partners, opened his second location in Frosinone: that year, Pupillo won the Due Spicchi Gambero Rosso for both pizzerias and was the best young pizzaiolo at the "Pizza Awards Italia 2019".
During the Covid emergency in 2020, Mastracci began to work on the rediscovery of the falia, an ancient traditional bakery product, somewhere between bread and pizza.
2021 was the breakthrough year for the Gambero Rosso Pizzerie d'Italia guide: Pupillo Pura Pizza reached the Three Spicchi and also won the Young Best Pizzaiolo dell'Anno award for 50 Top Pizza.2022 was equally pivotal for Pupillo Pura Pizza's growth: the Frosinone location reached 18th place in 50 Top Pizza Italia and 40th place in 50 Top Pizza Mondo, along with the confirmation of Forno Verde.
Luca Mastracci is also a Gambero Rosso instructor in the Neapolitan pizza course. In November 2022 he opened Velo Pizzaioli Popolari in Latina, together with three other partners: the protagonist, a thin, light and crispy dough disk, with numerous raw materials that pay homage to the Agro Pontino and tell the traditional recipes of the province. Latest arrival? Tintarella al Lido di Latina, a new summer entry from 2024 that develops a seasonal project through the Neapolitan matrix pizza already proposed by Pupillo.
