The president of the Association while giving the prize to Ernesto Fico for the course

by Monica Piscitelli

Naples is like a big, noisy and crowded pizzeria. The city has a symbiotic relationship with pizza as well as with coffee. "Let's go to have a coffee or a pizza" means "let's meet and chat". A coffee fights tiredness or is an excuse to smoke a cigarette and pizza is usually eaten to take a break. The oldest pizzerias are in the popular areas of Naples like the Pallonetto di Santa Lucia, the Quartieri Spagnoli, the Decumani orV asto. The inhabitants are always greedy for pizza. They can also take it away or let a basket down from the window.

In the morning, above all at weekends, people enjoy fried pizza. Many people living in council houses turned themselves into pizza makers: a table, some bowls containing the ingredients and a pan with boiling oil were enough to prepare fried pizzas on Saturdays and Sundays to scrape together some money to survive.

The historical centre of Naples

This pizzeria was opened in 2006 by the pizza maker and entrepreneur Ernesto Fico with his wife Rita in Santi Apostoli street in Naples, within a stone's throw from the Diocesan Museum and the bishop's see. It is in the heart of Naples. For example people order "five pizzas Margherita, three potato croquettes, two rice balls and two beers" by telephone in the evening, there is a home delivery service and the pizzeria is always crowded.

Once, some pizzas were stolen while delivering them by motorbike.

The clipping is on the wall, in the pizzeria located near Tribunali street. It includes 60 seats. Ernesto is at the cash desk, in the kitchen and at the counter where is helped by one of the pizza makers who worked at La Residenziale 2, the restaurant where he started this adventure in 1988 in San Giorgio a Cremano.

The Neapolitan macaroni omelette

This pizzeria is located in a strategic position. The counter contains potato croquettes, rice balls, omelettes, pizzas, macaroni omelettes and other irresistible delicacies. There are traditional and new pizzas like the pizza Donna Regina with cherry tomatoes, rocket and "fiordilatte" cheese. Ernesto Fico gave lessons about pizza in the Nisida prison within a project of the Naples Scugnizzi association.

Attending the course

These guys have attended a three month course to learn how to make pizza. This is a way of escaping from boredom in prison. Since some months ago they go out every day to make pizza in a pizzeria in the city. The learning of an old, authentic job is very important for the rehabilitation. In short, "while there is pizza there is hope".

Pizzeria Donna Regina
Via S.S. Apostoli 4
phone +39 081 442 1511
www.pizzeriadonnaregina.it‎

Traduzione in italiano su http://www.lucianopignataro.it/a/napoli-pizzeria-donna-regina-dove-c%E2%80%99e-pizza-c%E2%80%99e-speranza/19627/