From the traditions of Tramonti to the great products of Emilia: sea water, flour blends and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese become the tools with which Giovanni Mandara creates his own personal pizza, refined and deeply linked to excellence.
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Photo credits: Cinefood
La Piccola Piedigrotta, in the centre of Reggio Emilia, is not just a pizzeria, it is a place that brings together two geographically distant roots that coexist in a balance maintained by taste. On one side is Campania di Tramonti, with its history of dough, ovens and pizza makers; on the other is Emilia, a land rich in raw materials with producers capable of preserving ancient traditions while also evolving in the contemporary world by working alongside chefs.
Giovanni Mandara, chef-pizzaiolo and owner of La Piccola Piedigrotta, has been bringing these worlds together for over thirty years, creating a gastronomic bridge that is renewed every day through constantly improved dough, excellent ingredients and a sensitivity gained through continuous contact with the local area and beyond.
Mandara arrived in Reggio Emilia in 1989, bringing with him the culture of his home town, a tiny gem on the Amalfi Coast but one that has had an extraordinary influence on the history of Italian pizza.
His restaurant combines traditional techniques with contemporary curiosities, the use of selected agricultural flours, sea water for the right level of flavour and a network of supplier-friends with whom he pursues his mission of absolute quality, even in the simplest ingredients. And then there is Parmigiano Reggiano, a product he unhesitatingly calls the king of cheeses (despite being the son of Fiordilatte cheese makers), which in his pizzas becomes the trait d'union between the various ingredients and a lens through which to view a cuisine that is (finally) not afraid to mix different roots.
Tramonti pizza: history, identity and territory
Tramonti pizza is a gastronomic heritage that has its origins in the peasant tradition of the Amalfi Coast. It began as a humble, everyday product, prepared in domestic ovens with mixed flour dough (rye, barley, millet, rustic cereals) and topped with whatever the pantry had to offer: wild herbs, preserved tomatoes, anchovies. It was a sort of hard frisella that was softened with the toppings and had to last in the pantry. Its evolution accompanied changes in the territory and customs until it reached its modern form: a dough that is more robust than Neapolitan pizza, cooked at lower temperatures (around 300–350 degrees) to make it crispy on the outside and soft in the centre.
After the war, with the emigration of pizza makers from the north to northern Italy and Europe, this style spread and became recognised as an independent “school”. Today, it is protected by a Municipal Designation (De.Co.), which safeguards its method and identity. It is from this ancient, popular and surprisingly contemporary tradition that Mandara's daily work draws its inspiration.
Interview with Giovanni Mandara
Tell me about your place: what is it and what do you do?
Our restaurant was founded in 1989. I am the son of restaurateurs and come from Tramonti, a village of 4,000 inhabitants known for being the birthplace of thousands of pizza makers scattered throughout Italy and the world. The first immigrants who brought pizza outside Campania came from Tramonti, on the Amalfi Coast.
I have been in Reggio Emilia for almost 40 years and I am very attached to the area: we use Parmigiano Reggiano, Parma ham and everything that represents quality, with particular attention to local suppliers, farmers and small producers. Even a simple ingredient like an onion must be excellent in my kitchen and in my way of experiencing food. It is a battle we have been fighting for almost forty years.
Your pizza is described as halfway between Roman and Neapolitan. Is that correct?
Yes. It is a Tramonti pizza: compared to Neapolitan pizza, it is cooked at a lower temperature, 300–350 degrees instead of the classic 450–500 degrees. In the historic ovens of Tramonti, sailors' bread was baked, a wholemeal loaf cooked twice, which became hard and was eaten wet and seasoned. These techniques gave rise to the original dough for our pizzas, made with wholemeal flour, rye and whatever else was available at the time. We retain a certain crispness from Roman pizza and a similar shape and preparation from Neapolitan pizza, but the gentler cooking makes the dough crispy and soft at the same time.
You also make pizzas with sea water. Can we consider it a real ingredient or is it more of a romantic touch?
Yes, we were the first to use it. I started with a Spanish company fifteen years ago and now we collaborate with an Italian company in Cagliari. We only use flour from farms: hemp from Piacenza, carob from Sicily, rye and buckwheat from Merano, ancient grains from Puglia. We have created a blend that we work with only sea water, without added salt. Sea water is considered the “perfect salt”: it adds flavour without being aggressive. Over the years, we have reduced the salt in classic doughs by 35%, focusing on more aromatic flours that amplify the taste. With sea water, the perception changes: when tasted pure, it is very salty, but in the dough it becomes almost sweet and makes the pizza more balanced.
You often use Parmigiano Reggiano in your pizzas. That's strange considering your origins.
Yes, for us it's a staple: we consider it the king of cheeses. On my trips to Spain or France, I always take several pieces of Parmigiano Reggiano with me. I have a car with a large refrigerator specifically for testing products and holding events. I never forget to take a piece of Parmigiano Reggiano with me; it's part of my basic luggage. This cheese brings happiness wherever you take it, even abroad, where people are often unfamiliar with its longer ageing periods. It is also an extraordinary cheese in its evolution: from 30 months, perfect in its classicism, to long maturations such as 70, 100 or 140 months, which are true sensory experiences. I like to play with different maturations, but if I have to choose, 30 months is the ideal balance for me.
What is the perfect way to taste Parmigiano Reggiano?
For me, it's like a piece of chocolate: you eat it on its own, slowly, perhaps with friends and a glass of wine, chatting about nothing in particular. Sometimes “nothing” is more important than words. With 30 months, you have the perfect balance on the palate; with 140 months, you enter another dimension: just a small piece is enough and the taste lingers on the palate, evolving as the minutes pass. Every cheesemaker has a different signature and this diversity is a treasure. With the Consortium, we even have two wheels dedicated to my children: we will open one when my son turns 18. For us, it is more than just food: it is memory, identity, a link to our history. I am the son of cheesemakers, not of Parmigiano Reggiano, but of Fior di latte, and continuing this relationship with cheese is part of my life. A sort of mission.
Some people defend pineapple on pizza, even though purists may consider it heresy. You have a pizza with Red Moon on your menu. Can you tell us about it?
It's called Delizia 2.0. The Red Moon apple is the result of a collaboration with a producer. It is left to ripen longer, developing an incredible acidity that makes it perfect for cooking. Production was more limited this year, but the result is incredible. It is so special that a French pastry chef will use it for a dessert in a large Parisian hotel for New Year's Eve. It's wonderful to see how products created in certain places can travel far and be so successful.
Pizza according to Mandara and the role of Parmigiano Reggiano
On the Piccola Piedigrotta menu, pizza becomes an expressive medium that combines technique, curiosity and a very personal vision of taste. L'Eccellenza, the house Margherita, with Corbarino tomatoes (a tomato typical of the Corbara area, Salerno, characterised by an elongated pear shape, intense red colour and a sweet and sour taste), Vacche Rosse mozzarella and basil. A simplicity that reveals an extreme knowledge of ingredients and great depth.
La Scapece, on the other hand, is a story of aromatic layers: buffalo mozzarella, Tropea or Montoro onions, spicy Furlotti pancetta, courgettes and Parmigiano Reggiano. The cheese acts as a balancing element, combining sweetness, savouriness and aroma. La Rezdora celebrates the Emilian tradition with tosone cheese, vegetables and a pesto enriched with Parmigiano Reggiano, while Delizia 2.0, with Red Moon apple, shows the more experimental side of the pizzeria: a tart and vibrant ingredient that finds harmony in the dough and its contrasts.
In all these creations, Parmigiano Reggiano is not just a condiment, but a symbol: the bridge that unites Emilia and Campania, the Italian dairy tradition and the ingenuity of the pizza makers who have built, over time, a constantly evolving language of taste.
Mandara takes it with him on his travels, experiments with different maturation periods, considers it a work companion and an essential ingredient he cannot do without. In Reggio Emilia, his pizza becomes the place where all this intertwining takes shape.
Contacts and info
Piccola Piedigrotta
Piazza XXV Aprile, 1 – 42121 Reggio nell’Emilia (RE)
Phone 0522 435922
Website: https://www.piccolapiedigrotta.com/
