Pizza al Taglio - Rome, Italy

Last Visited: May 2007

While I can’t actually tell you where this location is, it’s very close to the Vatican as you approach St. Peter’s Square. Walking towards the square on a main street, we saw this alley on our left. Surrounding the alley entrance were shops that sold tourists items – magnets, scarves, and the like. Although it might have another name, you can look for this and similar shops featuring pizza al taglio which means pizza by the slice.

What tipped me off that this was a good place were the priests sitting on the steps eating their lunch. By the time this photo was taken, most of the clergy had left the area. I saw them there and knew that if this was a great place for locals, it was a great place for me to try and a gift from God.

Places like this one are great because you can purchase as much or as little as you like. The pizzas are formed into rectangles on large trays and cooked. Then they are placed in the deli counter display and after you select how much you would like, they cut the pizza and reheat it. Most places offer a multitude of varieties. With fresh pizza margherita (cheese pizza with tomato sauce and basil) that you can select for yourself, how could you go wrong?

For our lunch, we tried the pizza margherita as well as one with mushrooms. Both were delightful. Like the priests, we too sat on the steps out front and enjoyed our slices. Although they didn’t speak English, their smiles were warm, and we all enjoyed our pizzas together. If only a place like this would open near my workplace back home….