From Naples to Rome, Masardona's fried pizza turns 80 years old. Between authenticity and research is a celebration of a family history.
It was 1945 when La Masardona was born on Via Giulio Cesare Capaccio in Naples . Today, eighty years later, nothing has changed. From the historic locations in Naples to the most recent in Rome, the Piccirillo family always knows how to keep the oil hot. Filled fried pizzas, montanare, pasta fritters and crocchè tell the authentic Neapolitan culture through the story of an old family fry shop.
THE HISTORY
The beauty of family projects is that they always begin with the telling of a story, just like this one. Anna Manfredi (grandmother of current owner Enzo Piccirillo), every Sunday morning, used to fry pizzas right outside the front door. She did this to supplement her income and bring in some extra money for the family. After all, at the time, frying in oil was really cheap and certainly more affordable than baking pizzas in an oven, which not everyone owned.
Over time Anna refined her technique and became skilled, making her fritters even better. She thus decided to share her art with her daughter-in-law Carmela Pintauro who, also in the wake of her family tradition, became in a short time famous not only for fried pizza but also for taralli, roccocò, and tortano. But why La Masardona? It was Anna herself, as a little girl, who on some occasions had carried messages from one neighborhood to another so, as was the custom of those who acted as intermediaries between the brigands in the hills and the villagers, she was given this nickname.
THE MASARDONA TODAY
Over time, La Masardona has withstood change and evolution while keeping its essence intact. In addition to the historic location led by Enzo Piccirillo, near the train station, La Masardona added in 2019 a more modern location in Piazza Vittoria, right near the waterfront, led by his son Salvatore. In 2020, however, it was the turn of second son Cristiano , who brought the family name to Rome just steps away from Castel Sant'Angelo, also offering baked pizza for the first time.
"We are not a franchise. At the fourth direct generation we can say that we are the real historical Neapolitan pizzeria run totally in the family!” says Cristiano. Yes, because if in the Naples addresses there are Dad Enzo and Salvatore, in the one in Rome there is always him.
That of the Piccirillo family is a story closely linked to the city of Naples and to fried pizza, strictly served without cutlery and eaten with the hands, in full respect of the centuries-old tradition. When asked “What is the secret of your fried pizza?” Cristiano answers “It is time, research, study. There is no real secret other than learning to control the variables, starting from the type of water, the time to the oil (sunflower seed and always at a temperature of about 180 degrees).”
This is how fried pizza from a poor street food has become, through La Masardona, a comfort food of great quality thanks certainly to the use of first-rate ingredients and preparation as it once was. The result is a fragrant, light and digestible bite with true and identity flavors. “My great-grandmother used to fill the fried pizza somewhat coarsely and with what she had at home. Today the same happens not only in the fillings but also with montanare or rounds,” Cristiano says.
THE SIGNATURE TASTING ROUTES
The menu offers as many as four different tasting routes:
- La Masardona is: a tribute to fried food in all its golden hues with pasta fritters and the fried pizza dedicated to Grandma Masardona;
- Around Naples: a tale of the Neapolitan way of life through a journey among fragrant fried and baked round pizzas, to bring back memories of the past;
- Veggie: a selection of fried foods with all vegetable flavors, from montanara primavera to crocchè di patate;
Lastly - “Trust Cristiano” - the tasting path that exclusively (it is present only in the Roman address) gives a glimpse into Cristiano Piccirillo's past, between Naples and the world but always in symbiosis with his family.
It starts with a bouquet of excellent fried foods served on a mosaic of ceramic tiles: the Montanara Primavera with datterini tomatoes, arugula and buffalo mozzarella from Naples; Nonna Pizza with Neapolitan ragu cooked 12 hours at low temperature, Parmigiano and basil to pay homage to great-grandmother Anna Manfredi and her “real” ragu and sweetly remember what she was called by the whole neighborhood; Genovese with onion stew, beef, pecorino and basil. There is, of course, no shortage of fried foods: arancino rosso with meat ragu and peas; frittatina di pasta from Pastificio Gerardo di Nola; and crocchè of potatoes, pepper and pecorino.
Then comes the baked tomato declination with slices of round pizza: marinara (tomato, basil, garlic and oregano); Tonino, in a decomposed eggplant parmigiana (fresh smoked provola, pepper, basil, meat, fried eggplant); margherita with fiordilatte mozzarella, San Marzano tomato and basil; Vesuvio with fresh datterini tomato, basil and buffalo.
With the stuffed fried pizzas then you literally take the iconicity and history of Naples into your hands. There is the Don Vincenzo - with a filling of sheep's ricotta, cicoli, provolone, pepper and basil-that tells of postwar poverty and how these ingredients at the time were accessible to all, allowing anyone a tasty dish. Symbol of Naples, on the other hand, is the Zio Gennaro with friarielli, provola and knife-tipped sausage.
Scenic and perhaps less parochial is “Luna park, ” literally a Ferris wheel that arrives on the table with fried dough rags, six different creams and sweet toppings, from nutella to pistachio to white chocolate.
CONTACT
Masardona since 1945 by Cristiano Piccirillo
Piazza dell'Oro, 6, Rome
Phone: 06 8698 1973
www.instagram.com/masardonaroma/ - https://masardonaroma.it/
