Why the capricciosa should be your next pizza order

Discover the colourful Italian classic that is perfect for sharing and deserves to be re-evaluated

12 Oct 2026

Chef Giuseppe Pignalosa placing toppings on a capricciosa.

If your pizza vocabulary stops at margherita and marinara, it's time to get to know the capricciosa. Meaning ‘capricious’ or ‘whimsical’ in Italian, this is the pizza that says yes to just about everything. Interpretations vary, but a classic capricciosa brings together tomato, mozzarella, cooked ham, mushrooms, artichokes and olives. The result is rich, savoury and unmistakably Italian.

To dive a little deeper, we turned to one of Italy's leading voices on the capricciosa: Giuseppe Pignalosa (pictured), a third-generation pizzaiolo from Salerno, not far from Naples. A few years ago, Pignalosa began to notice that certain classic pizzas were slipping off menus. "We had all become innovative, making refined, contemporary pizzas, but we'd somewhat forgotten about tradition," he says. "I asked myself: why have we lost pizzas that, 30 or 40 years ago, were part of Neapolitan identity?"

He decided to respond by reviving the capricciosa for today's tastes, preserving its essential character, but putting a new focus on carefully sourced ingredients.

From "anything goes" to "only the best"

The capricciosa of old often featured a somewhat hit-or-miss medley of ingredients, where the focus was more on quantity than on quality. Pignalosa's fix wasn't to reinvent this popular favourite, but to improve what already defines it. "When I brought the capricciosa back to the table, I went looking for the best products," he says. The dough stays traditional, stretched by hand into a wide disc, while the toppings get special attention. "My new capricciosa is the perfect marriage of tradition and innovation. But not extreme innovation: the innovation is high-quality products paired with a traditional dough."

The secrets of the perfect capricciosa

What makes a capricciosa truly memorable? For Pignalosa, it's all about the ingredients and making them work together.

Tomatoes. "The tomato is the first key ingredient," he says. He uses San Marzano tomatoes for their balance of sweetness and acidity.
Mozzarella. Fior di latte, made with 100% local cow's milk, used sparingly for creaminess.
Cooked ham. Pignalosa favours a mix of peppery, intense Neapolitan-style salami – "If you don't put Salame Napoli on a capricciosa, what kind of capricciosa is it?" – alongside a smoother, more delicate roasted prosciutto.
Mushrooms. In his version, porcini replace the usual button mushrooms, bringing a more aromatic, lingering flavour.
Artichokes. Small, sweet artichokes from nearby Pertosa balance the saltier ingredients.
Olives. A handful of briny local olives, plus a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil before baking.
Basil. As a final touch, Pignalosa adds a garnish of fresh basil leaves after baking.

The golden rule is restraint. "You shouldn't overdo these products," he cautions. "You have to be able to taste the mozzarella, the tomato, the ham and everything else. No ingredient should get in the way of the others.”

How to spot a good capricciosa

According to Pignalosa, you can judge a capricciosa even before the first bite. "Look at three things," he says, "the base, how well it's cooked, and how the toppings are distributed." The crust should be evenly baked, with the right level of spotting, and the toppings spread across the whole pizza rather than piled up in one place – especially important in a pizza with so many ingredients.

"Anyone can slap on 100g of ham or 80g of mozzarella. But here, everything is calculated." The goal is a pizza in which "every slice delivers the identity of the capricciosa as a whole. Balance makes the difference." That's why his quantities are carefully measured: about 70g of tomato, 40g of ham, 30g of salami and 30g to 40g of sautéed porcini, plus two artichokes and four or five olives.

A pizza made for sharing

So why does the capricciosa deserve a new opportunity to win people over? "Pizza is popular and must remain a dish of the people," declares Pignalosa. "Made with high-quality ingredients, of course, but of the people." In his view, the capricciosa is a prime example: generous, colourful, instantly recognisable and, above all, made to be shared. He goes on to explain that in his pizzeria, tables sometimes finish the pizzas they've chosen and then order a capricciosa for the middle, so everyone can taste it. That sharing is what stays with you. "If you come to eat my pizza, you should leave with a memory," he says.

So the next time you're choosing a pizza, skip the usual order. Ask for a capricciosa, put it in the middle of the table, and get ready for memories worth savouring.