Meet Francesco Martucci, the World's Best Pizzaiolo

Issue #173

Jan 22, 2026

For Francesco Martucci, the man behind the award-winning Pizzeria I Masanielli in Caserta, pizza is more than an art and a science, it’s a way of life. He has been working in pizzerias since the age of ten. Now he’s at the top of his game, leading the pack of contemporary pizza-makers transforming this humble food into a gourmet dish. I Masanielli has been crowned the world’s best pizzeria by 50 Top Pizza five times and was the only pizzeria voted among the 20 best international restaurants in Food & Wine’s 2024 Global Tastemakers Awards.

When I first met Francesco, in 2023, I Masanielli was already at the top of the 50 Top Pizza list, but he didn’t have a publicist or anyone handling press relations. When I went to pay for my meal and asked the cashier if the pizzeria had a press office, I was told to wait. Francesco came out of the kitchen, greeted me and my husband Marco, and gave me his personal phone number. When my family came to visit in 2024, I brought them to I Masanielli and I went back again last year with friends and tried Francesco’s tasting menu, which was full of sleeper hits. That’s when he first told me about his plan to open a pizzeria in Miami and promised me an exclusive.

Francesco Martucci, his namesake pizzeria, opened in Miami’s Wynwood district last Friday to much fanfare. This interview with him was conducted prior to the opening in connection with my exclusive for Food & Wine, which I’ll link to in the Further Reading section at the end. I’m thrilled to share our conversation as part of my series of interviews with entrepreneurs and creatives in Italy.

Tell me a little bit about how this new project came about.

Francesco Martucci: It all started when Nick Di Donato and his wife Nadia came to the pizzeria. They already have Don Alfonso in Toronto with the Liberty Group. And well, I knew they wanted to open this restaurant with me. They invited me to Toronto and showed me all the restaurants they own. All the restaurants were always full of people, always well maintained, and always provided excellent service. So this made me think a lot, because usually when you have partners, they are less involved in the industry.

You know, everyone invests in the industry, but they are not part of the industry. Instead, what I really liked was that they are actually in the industry and they work in it. During my visit to Toronto, we negotiated a deal that turned out to be right for both my team and theirs. Then we found the venue in Miami and fell in love with it. We started working with Nadia, who is the company’s architect, to collaborate on the art and things we like that reflect our personality.

And so, after almost a year and a half, here we are, finally getting to the point and the day is getting closer and closer. So it was a very important collaboration on a human level too, as we got to know each other’s families. We did so many things together, I really adore these people, so I’m very happy about this partnership.

Have you had other requests from other investors in the past?

Of course. I never accepted because I always felt that, practically speaking, as if I were a number. I honestly can’t partner myself with someone who’s not in the industry, as I told you before, but only an investor. They don’t understand many dynamics that can jeopardize the partnership. I’ve had proposals from Japan, Dubai, and all over the world. But now we’ve known each other for almost two years, Nick and Nadia seem more human precisely because they work firsthand.

I remember that a while back, you told me you weren’t going to open a new pizzeria in Italy, but only in the United States?

Yes, Masanielli remains unique and remains in Italy, just as it is. So this pilgrimage will remain a pilgrimage of people from all over the world. In Miami it will only be Francesco Martucci, but fortunately the brand is now known worldwide. We’ll do other things in America too, we’ll see. One thing at a time. I’m taking it step by step.

Sure. And was the idea to use your name yours or theirs?

Both, because Masanelli is the family brand, belonging to the Martucci family—mine, my brother’s, my mother’s, and my sister’s. So we wanted a real spin-off, but still completely different projects and not in Italy.

I know Miami well because I have relatives nearby, so I know Wynwood. It’s a former industrial area that has been revitalized thanks to street art, and there’s a lot going on there. So I imagine you found a nice synergy there?

Yes, great synergy. There’s great synergy, great energy, because the neighborhood is really cool. And it’s cool and affordable for everyone in a sense, compared to other neighborhoods that are perhaps more prestigious but less affordable in terms of prices and quality of life, let’s say. So Wynwood has always inspired us, even before we found the place. We’ve always found this situation very cool, because that’s what made us fall in love with it.

Tell me a little about the space, the architecture, design—I know that’s also very important to you.

Of course, because it reflects who I am, my identity, and therefore my passion for design, art, contemporary art, furnishings, and many other things. And so there will also be a space dedicated to art exhibitions by various contemporary artists that we will choose on the street, since my partners are passionate about art. They certainly know more about art than I do.

And then we have the tasting room, which is completely separate, in the sense that it has a separate entrance and separate bathrooms for people who want more privacy, so everyone is happier. And then there is the pizzeria, which is very similar to Caserta in some ways, with dark tones and soft lighting. It has a huge bar counter and 145 seats. The kitchen is open, the ovens are open, people will see what they are eating, so to speak. They will also see the pizza being prepared live.

Photo courtesy of Francesco Martucci Miami

Is it bigger? How many seats are there in Caserta?

In Caserta there are 150, but they are concentrated in just 500 square meters. This one, on the other hand, is about 700 square meters.

So it’s bigger, but the number of seats is more or less the same. So each table will have a little more space?

Yes, definitely. We collaborate with Versace Ceramiche and many other important design companies.

So tell me a little about the menu. You said there will be a tasting room, so obviously there will be tastings, and then there will also be an à la carte menu, right?

There will be an à la carte menu featuring Masanielli’s signature dishes, which will include the familiar 7 Consistenze della Cipolla, la Futura del Marinara, Pane di Velluto, and others that will be specially designed for the American market, very vegetable-based. I really like to express myself freely, but you also have to understand that you’re in a different place, where the gastronomic culture is also different. So you have to approach it with humility and make your cosmopolitan style understood.

Being passionate about restaurants, traveling around the world, you understand so many tastes and so many things. And so, I’ll make a tailor-made suit just for this occasion, which you’ll see. I’m not telling the rest yet, because I want to finalize it on the spot with some herbs, vegetables, tomatoes, etc. We are also collaborating on this, so there will be lots of vegetables and you will see many new things, in addition to the signature dishes that made Masanielli famous.

The tasting will be a preview of the future of Masanielli’s pizzas, as is already the case in Caserta, and the future of Miami. So there will be eight courses and there will be a lot of new stuff.

Is there anything I would have tasted in Caserta?

You tasted the onion when it had five textures, now it has seven, it has become seven textures of onion. So there will be a Futura del Marinara, there will be seven textures of onion, there will be one called oil and tomato, in which all the tomatoes are processed differently in my own way, as I usually do with single ingredients.

Will there also be pizzas cooked at three different temperatures?

Certainly, there will be.

But will the dough be the same or will it change a little?

So, I’ll be there for the first month, and then my second-in-command will take over. My long-time colleague has been with me for 12 years, so I guarantee that the dough will be the same.

And the other ingredients, such as mozzarella, tomatoes, wild garlic, all come from Italy. My entire selection comes from Italy, so only the vegetables, the fresh produce, will be American. It will be a mix of things, because that’s also very stimulating. American farms have infinite added value for me, because they know how to work very well. So that will be a strong point, in my opinion. Americans are very good at this kind of work, I have to say. I’ve used some extraordinary vegetable growers. You’ll see.

So you’re finding some inspiration in Miami too?

Yes, it’s normal that we should honor the city that hosts us, the nation that hosts us, the state that hosts us. It’s right and proper, and in my opinion, it’s wonderful and educational.

I don’t know if you’ve explored Miami, but the food is also very closely linked to Latin American culture, Cuban culture, etc.

Yes, I’ve been to all of them in Miami, I know everyone. From Komodo to Gekko and South American places. I’ve tried Mexican, Cuban... I don’t remember all the names, but I’ve been around Miami a lot this past year and a half, so I’ve picked things up. It’s my way of doing things that makes the difference, in my opinion, because people have to find uniqueness in things they haven’t already tasted.

So this is the American way of thinking, in my opinion. Do it with humility and make it clear that Martucci’s stamp is beautiful and evident. This is important, in my opinion.

And will the kitchen be equipped more or less like the one in Caserta, with equipment like sous vide and all the rest?

Yes, five ovens have been brought over from Italy. There is one tunnel stove, another electric stove, and two wood-burning stoves, all made in Italy.

And what about the prices? Will they be a little higher?

Compared to Italy, yes, because America is not Italy in terms of management, there’s quite a difference. Let’s say that we aim to be exclusive and easygoing at the same time, basically.

Can you give me an example of the price for a pizza, so I can compare it?

I believe that a margherita will cost between 30 and 35. But for the others, we will consult with our team. There are people who do the calculations for this very reason. And then we will announce the final price.

Sure. You said that you’ll be there for the inauguration and then you’ll return to Caserta?

For the first month and a half, it will be me, and then my second in command will join me with six guys trained by us, that is, mostly raised in Caserta. We trained them in our youth academy, so to speak, like in soccer, we raised them in Caserta.

So what is the biggest challenge of this opening for you?

Not feeling like a winner even though you have a brand that is recognized worldwide. Really, I’ll go there as a humble worker, I don’t have any big ideas in my head. So the biggest challenge is precisely this: to keep my feet on the ground, but to dream with my head in the clouds. So as not to be overwhelmed by success, if success comes. We don’t take it for granted at all, but not to be pessimistic, superstitiously speaking, but precisely because of the humility we put into making our work understood.

So keep your head down and pedal, that’s the hardest challenge, because when you’re in a new place, it’s important to give it your all. Working many hours a day will mean a lot of work for me. This is the biggest challenge, really a lot of work.

Well, I must say that this is something I have always appreciated about you, ever since we first met, following your story and your journey. But you know, we’ve never really talked much about your past, your childhood, how the pizzeria came about.

I started at ten years old out of necessity. Because we didn’t have electricity or gas at home, I used to go to Caritas to eat. My mom had me when she was 16. So I had to help out and try to make that period less painful, because we were really hungry. Also, the parents of my classmates didn’t want them to play with me because I didn’t come from a wealthy family.

There was a lot, not pain, but a lot of bad things that turned out to be my strength, because as a 10-year-old child, I was already washing dishes in a pizzeria, cleaning the bathroom, and so on. Then, little by little, step by step, I tried to learn the trade, to learn it in the best possible way from the master of the time, who was a phenomenal person professionally. But back then, they didn’t explain things to you, there were hierarchies. Those who were small had to elbow their way in to get a place in that hierarchy. And so let’s say that all this hard work, if we can call it that, helped me become who I am. I repeat, I look at success from a distance, cautiously, without letting it overwhelm me.

I am aware that I am not saving anyone’s life, I am aware that I am just a craftsman. And the biggest challenge is how to make Americans understand this, whereas today, in most cases—fortunately not all—the restaurant business has become all show, social media, that kind of stuff. So we want to stay calm and do a good job, that’s our goal.

I’m still that guy. When the boss said I had to wash the dishes, I washed and scrubbed, when the boss told me to prepare the tomatoes, first I had to do it with a strainer because the tomatoes were strained and put into large buckets, which were then passed on to the pizzeria, which gradually used them. I would grab that bucket of tomatoes because it was the next step.

And even today, I’m still grabbing that bucket because it’s the next step. I’m not above it because now I’m successful. We must always improve day by day.

It’s incredible, you’re an inspiration.

First and foremost, I try to be an inspiration for my kids. You know, I have three children, and fortunately they didn’t have the same childhood I did. So I want them to understand that certain things should be valued and studied properly. It’s important to teach them true values.

When you were telling me about your childhood, I was reminded of a saying we have in the United States. I don’t know if you’ve heard it, but what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

Yes, we have it here too. And so this has been my journey, a hard journey, but one that has taught me so much.

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