Meet the Female Pizzaioli of Naples
It doesn’t hurt to be a famous pizzaiolo, but culinary expertise isn’t required to have some fun in Italy. No one knows this better than Livia Hengel, an Italian-American journalist based in Rome. She once moved to Naples for a couple of months to meet the city’s pizzaioli and eat their life-changing pies.
“Back in 2018, I spent two months eating my way through Naples on a quest to uncover the city’s best pizza,” said Livia. “A pizza isn’t just a pizza in Naples. A simple Margherita is a work of art—skillfully kneaded, seasoned, and baked by one of many talented pizzaioli.” If two months sounds crazy, think again. There are more than 8,000 pizzerias in Naples, and UNESCO even recognized the longstanding tradition of Neapolitan pizza making as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage program.
What was Livia’s favorite discovery? “The city’s celebrated female pizzaioli. They adeptly flip and fry the lesser-known pizza fritta—half-moon pies filled with ricotta, crispy bits of bacon, and deep-fried on the spot.”
Keep scrolling for a virtual taste of Culinary Naples: Producers, Purveyors, and Pizzaioli, an Atlas Obscura trip departing this fall.
Margherita and Marinara may be the classic Neapolitan pizzas, but Salsiccia and Friarielli (sausage and broccoli rabe) is a popular flavor combination at Concettina ai Tre Santi. LIVIA HENGEL
The popularity of Concettina ai Tre Santi has helped put Rione Sanità, a colorful yet historically maligned neighborhood, on the map. LIVIA HENGEL
For decades, Da Fernanda has been frying up pizza fritta out of a small storefront in Quartieri Spagnoli. LIVIA HENGEL
Fernanda’s famous €3 fried pizza pockets come stuffed with ricotta, cicoli (fatty pork bits), tomato sauce, and black pepper. LIVIA HENGEL
A popular pizzeria in the centro storico, La Figlia del Presidente serves fragrant fried pizzas and fluffy pies. LIVIA HENGEL
A true matriarch, Maria Cacialli of La Figlia del Presidente oversees a full squad of pizzaioli—all of them men—including her husband and son. LIVIA HENGEL
The Margherita at Le Figlie di Iorio. It was invented in the 1800s to honor the Queen of Italy, Margherita of Savoy, by using ingredients that represent the Italian flag: tomatoes (red), mozzarella (white), and basil (green). LIVIA HENGEL
Teresa Iorio, the 19th of 20 children, followed in her father's footsteps and has become one of the city’s most famous female pizzaioli at Le Figlie di Iorio. LIVIA HENGEL
Sorbillo is arguably the most popular pizzeria in Naples. It’s not uncommon to line up for hours to snag a coveted seat inside. LIVIA HENGEL
By Nick Papa
I’m the editor of the Atlas Obscura trips blog. I talk to our trip leaders, travelers, and friends in the industry about how they explore the world’s wondrous places.
See the Millions of Migrating Butterflies That Transform This Mexican Forest
At the end of each North American summer, one of the world’s most astounding migrations begins: Millions upon millions of monarch butterflies make their way from Canada and the United States to an expanse of forest in central Mexico. They settle on oyamel fir trees by the thousands—weighing down branches and blanketing the forest floor. With their arrival, the forest turns a stunning shade of orange.
The 2,800-mile journey takes the butterflies around three months, which makes it the longest insect migration in the world. These monarchs are also the only butterflies known to make a round trip. Around March, they head back north guided by the earth’s magnetic field, the sun’s position, and other internal and external compasses that scientists are still trying to understand.
In February, Atlas Obscura took a handful of travelers to behold Mexico’s Great Monarch Butterfly Migration. Treading silently among the magnificent creatures, Atlas Obscura trip leaders Phil Torres and Becky Friesen guided travelers through the butterflies’ winter habitat: a 200 square mile nature reserve called the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve.
Lucky for us, Phil also happens to be an amazing photographer. Here’s some of what they saw.
A lone butterfly in the El Rosario Sanctuary in Michoacán. PHIL TORRES
A flurry of neon wings on the fir branches. PHIL TORRES
Every year, the butterflies take up residence in the same forest of pine and oyamel fir trees. PHIL TORRES
Butterflies on the forest floor. PHIL TORRES
The millions of butterflies with turn around and make the trip back north. PHIL TORRES
Our group of butterfly enthusiasts in the Sierra Chincua Butterfly Sanctuary. PHIL TORRES
By Nick Papa
I’m the editor of the Atlas Obscura trips blog. I talk to our trip leaders, travelers, and friends in the industry about how they explore the world’s wondrous places.
An Inside Look at the Art of Chernobyl
The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is the protected area around the infamous power plant. It includes Pripyat, a ghost city left abandoned after the disaster. But the 20-mile radius also contains stunning, surprising, and often sobering art. Some murals date back to before the 1986 explosion and remain frozen in time. Other works have popped up in the decades since. It's a mix of art created with and without the permission of local authorities.
Atlas Obscura travelers snapped these art photos on our Chernobyl by Day, Kyiv by Night trip. These works offer a glimpse into the society that once thrived here. But they also reveal something new about the locals who have since returned.
A mural painted before 1986, found near a complex for children.
A mural erected before 1986, found next to a pool in the Palace of Culture.
A mural believed to be painted post-1986, found near the Pripyat amusement park.
A mural erected in 2016 by Australian artist Guido van Helten, in honor of Russian photographer Igor Kostin. Before his death in 2015, Kostin spent decades photographing post-disaster Chernobyl. This mural, which was approved by Chernobyl’s administration, is a reproduction of a Kostin photograph. It can be found inside the cooling tower adjacent to Chernobyl’s unfinished Block Five.
According to trip leader Darmon Richter, an unauthorized artist painted these orange characters in the spring of 2019. Richter, who was likely the first person to play Pokemon Go in Chernobyl, hypothesizes that the character in the white hat might be based on him.
By Nick Papa
I’m the editor of the Atlas Obscura trips blog. I talk to our trip leaders, travelers, and friends in the industry about how they explore the world’s wondrous places.