Wallet pizzas 

Also called pizza a libretto due to the way it is folded, it is the street food of the alleys of Naples. The wallet pizza, in fact, was designed to be eaten while walking while getting lost in the beauties of the Neapolitan city. Here is its history and its characteristics, told by a true master of this specialty: Salvatore Di Matteo, the one who gave the President of the United States of America a taste of the wallet pizza.

Everyone knows the story of Margherita pizza, the real one and the fictional one, but there is an equally loved little sister that we often take for granted: wallet pizza, or booklet pizza. You are in Naples, stroll through the alleys of the city, touching the capuzzelle placed in front of the churches. In the distance a lady calls her son from the balcony who is playing football with friends, it doesn't matter if it's 4 in the afternoon or 10 in the evening, he will be there to play, you know. You get tired but you don't feel like stopping at the pizzeria, what are you eating? The answer is simple: wallet pizza. Just like the child who plays soccer: it doesn't matter who, it doesn't matter where, it doesn't matter when, the booklet pizza is in the window, waiting for the hurried tramps of the alleys of Naples.

The history of wallet pizza

Contrary to popular belief, wallet pizza is not very ancient, certainly not as old as classic pizza. It seems to have been invented at the Pizzeria Port'Alba, founded in 1738 but it is obviously impossible to trace the real origin. It most likely dates back to the middle of the last century and we deduce it from Matilde Serao's "Ventre di Napoli". The founder of Il Mattino codified the street food of Naples in the early 1900s, a book designed for poor people. The great absentee from this book is the wallet pizza because at the time the pizzas were large and were sold in slices, like in America.

It reads: "The pizza maker who has a shop, during the night, makes a large number of these round crushed dough, of a dense pasta, which burns but does not cook, loaded with raw tomato, garlic, pepper, oregano : in many sectors, these penny-priced pizzas are entrusted to a boy, who goes to sell them in some street corner, on a traveling stall and stays there almost all day. There are also slices of two cents, for the children who go to school; when the supply is finished, the pizza maker supplies it, until nightfall. There are also, for the night, some boys who wear a large convex tin shield on their heads, in which these slices of pizza are placed and turn along the alleys and give a special cry, saying that pizza is made with tomatoes and garlic, with mozzarella and salted anchovies. The poor women sitting on the bottom step buys some and has dinner, that is, lunch, with this penny of pizza".

This short excerpt highlights two things: the Naples of the early 1900s is a very lively city. Poor perhaps, but very much alive: the slice pizza already existed, invented in Italy and not in the United States as many Americans claim. The boy carried the pizzas along the streets, up to the houses and workplaces, in fact we are talking about delivery. There is also another significant passage by Serao in this regard: slices of pizza at home were loved by women, not just those of the lower classes. The boy walked along the streets and these slices arrived above all on the counters of the seamstresses in via Duomo, historically the street of Neapolitan high fashion. Serao tells us about early 1900s women who worked and couldn't cook. We note, sadly, that it is futuristic even for today.

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between the two products? We asked one of the masters of this specialty, Salvatore Di Matteo, owner of the historic Pizzeria Di Matteo in via Tribunali 94.

The wallet pizza was therefore probably born after the Second World War, with the economic boom and the birth of numerous pizzerias, many of which were reconverted: from low with fryers they became real restaurants. In the counters with croquettes and arancini there are also these small pizzas, different from those of the bar and different from the classic round ones. A food to eat while walking, after school just like the children of Serao. Curiously, even the wallet pizza is made with the same method as the pizzas sold to children for a few cents: the "waste" is used.

The booklet pizza in the 90s took a turn, fashion exploded, everyone wanted to eat it and, thanks to the opening of the subway in 1993, the province was finally well connected to the city center. Many Neapolitans reluctant to travel by bus, especially of the older generations, can move from neighboring towns to the city center in comfort and at reduced costs. The following year the G7 was held in Naples and the city was preparing for the arrival of Bill Clinton, welcomed as a real star. The President of the United States of America is a good fork and tries various pizzas in the city, including Di Matteo's wallet pizza: "Clinton first tasted the pizza in the booklet, he liked it very much, after which he ate no less than two fried pizzas accompanied from the inevitable Coca-Cola, because it is still American".

Thanks to Bill Clinton's taste, the wallet pizza makes a great leap forward in the world of the Neapolitan pizzeria, going beyond the confines of the Courts. Even themed pizzerias are born. Salvatore Di Matteo also tells us another anecdote concerning the pizza makers of the historic families of Naples: "For us, the memory is even more different. Those who grew up in a family with a historic brand started right from the booklet pizzas. It is the springboard for pizza makers because the small size makes handling easier, it's an initial approach. I also have many memories as a customer: when I skipped school, with friends, I ate pizzas in wallets from other pizzerias because of course I couldn't go to my father".