Antonio Chirico and his daughter Lara, a sommelier

Massascusa neighborhood
Via Ponte, 7
Phone and Fax +39 0974 61761
Open in the evening from Thursdays to Sundays (open seven days a week in summer)
info@anticocilento.eu
www.anticocilento.eu

The Chirico family opened this pizzeria in the heart of the Cilento Park, in a small hamlet of Cerarso, an inner village which is just twenty minutes away from the sea of Palinuro and thirty minutes from the temples of Paestum.

Antonio is an anomalous inhabitant of Cilento: he is a globetrotter and is always anxious to know new things. He loves his land where he returned after working in Africa, Switzerland, Milan and Reggio Emilia.

He set up a plant engineering company and dedicated to his passion, catering. In the Sixties and in the Seventies he worked at a successful restaurant in Palinuro.

 

Ceraso, Antico Cilento

Three years ago he opened a small and lovely hotel managed with the cooperation of his wife and his daughter. It includes nine rooms, each one is different, and a restaurant.

Then last year he opened this pizzeria. He opened a pizzeria in a mountain place more than thirty years ago and there he also built a wooden refuge which became an inn.

At Pummarò there is a wood burning oven but the pizzas are baked on a rotating stone which gets warm thanks to fire. Antonio told me that this method allows to bake dough in a natural and uniform way. This pizza is crisp and genuine because is made with genuine tomatoes, cheese and vegetables. The oil is the one from Cilento. The menu includes the classic Margherita, Marinara, 4 stagioni, Capricciosa and Romana but also the Primavera with fresh rocket, Parmesan cheese and balsamic vinegar sauce, the Calabrese with chili salami, dried tomatoes and, of course, a lot of chili pepper, the Pugliese with tomatoes, mozzarella, onions and oregano and a tasty Quattro Formaggi (with cheese).

The pizza with anchovies

The ambiance is cosy and in a country style, the service is informal and homely.

Outside there is a small terrace among lemon trees and opposite a big garden where you can have dinner in summer under the gazebo. In the room there is his daughter Lara, a sommelier and a smiling and self-confident woman. She studied at the Luiss university and abroad. She loves her land and is convinced that it is difficult to attract long-term tourists but that you should look after passing tourists with professionalism. Here they speak three languages and are conscious of the importance of good communication. The age of word of mouth finished a long time ago.  

Traduzione in italiano su http://www.lucianopignataro.it/a/ceraso-cilento-pizzeria-pummaro/11031/