Pizza a portafoglio is an icon of street food in Naples. But it is not well known abroad. Do not worry, here I am to tell you everything about this particular kind of pizza, one of the most beloved foods in my hometown.
What is pizza a portafoglio
How do you eat pizza a portafoglio
Where to eat pizza a portafoglio in Naples
Pizza a portafoglio in other countries
Pizza a portafoglio: recipe for home cooking
WHAT IS PIZZA A PORTAFOGLIO?
Pizza a portafoglio is a pizza of smaller size, wrapped in straw or oven paper, and folded twice on its sides. Its name translates literally to ‘wallet pizza,’ a reference to how it’s folded. It is also known as “pizza a libretto”, where libretto means “small book”.
You can buy pizza a portafoglio everywhere in Naples. Not just from a pizzeria, but also from bakeries and delis. It is perfect to satisfy your cravings in case you don’t have time to stop for a full lunch. In Naples, we could crave pizza at any time: even when we’re just walking back home for dinner, we could feel that need for a soft dough, topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella. This is also because walking in Naples, you encounter a pizzeria every five meters, and it’s hard to resist the temptation. That’s why pizza a portafoglio is the solution: its only purpose is calming your hunger for a while, without filling your stomach.
The history of pizza a portafoglio is a natural evolution of the Neapolitan pizza tradition. Neapolitan pizza’s main feature is the dough, soft and elastic, that you can fold on its side, something you can’t do with other kinds of pizza. Also, Neapolitan pizza was historically always meant to be street food. The low price and the fact that it can be taken away mean that often people buy it and eat it a few meters away from the pizzeria, sitting on a wall or a staircase.
Therefore, pizza a portafoglio is even more convenient: it’s smaller, easier to handle, and cheaper. It costs around 1.50-2 euros. That’s why it’s the “people’s food”, as it’s loved by anyone, students, workers, homeless people, and any social class.: it makes everyone happy.
HOW DO YOU EAT PIZZA A PORTAFOGLIO?
Pizza a portafoglio is served piping hot, open on a sheet of parchment or straw paper. It’s rarely served on a plate. Sometimes it’s given to you already folded. Otherwise, it’s up to you to fold it in half, then in half again. See how it resembles a wallet?
Pizza a portafoglio is not the same everywhere. The ones made in a pizzeria are better, as you can buy them fresh. But you need to remember, it’s not just a pizza of a smaller size. The crust is less soft, there’s less tomato sauce on top, and only a small cube of fiordilatte cheese. Do not forget: it is conceived to be folded and eaten in a short time. A larger amount of ingredients would make the pizza spill over everything, making a big mess.
WHERE TO EAT PIZZA A PORTAFOGLIO IN NAPLES?
You can eat pizza a portafoglio basically everywhere in Naples. It’s impossible to list every place where you could buy one. But there are a few pizzerias mostly recognized to have the best pizza a portafoglio in Naples.
Antica Pizzeria Port’Alba (Via Port’Alba, 18): this pizzeria is considered the oldest in Naples, dating back to 1738 (although there’s no official record of its date of inception). In the past, it was popular among the intellectuals, but also penniless students. This has not changed much in the centuries, since the pizzeria is located in the University area of the city. It’s just at the beginning of a street which is famous for its bookshops and the second-hand book stands. You can satisfy your appetite for culture here, the same way you can do with your hunger, in both cases with only a few euros. The pizzeria displays its pizza a portafoglio all day long.
Pizzeria Di Matteo (Via dei Tribunali, 94): Salvatore Di Matteo’s pizzeria is one of the most famous among the pizzerias located on the street considered to be the “open-air museum of Neapolitan pizza”. There’s always a big crowd outside. Some are waiting to sit inside, others for their pizza to go. But some other people are in line to buy one of the street food specialties on display. The pizza a portafoglio is of course one of those. It became particularly famous here thanks to a special visit: former US President Bill Clinton, who, in 1994, was in Naples for the G7. The picture where he enthusiastically devours a pizza a portafoglio is now history.
Pizzeria Tutino dal 1935 (Via Cesare Carmignano, 79): it is generally considered the place to go when you arrive in Naples through the Circumvesuviana train at Porta Nolana station. The area around is pretty poor, and it really represents the old, authentic side of the city. The same thing can be said for this pizza a portafoglio: simple, cheap and authentically Neapolitan (verace).
Pizzeria Errico Porzio (Via Alessandro Scarlatti, 84): the Vomero neighborhood is located on the hills of Naples, and it is very different from the old town. It’s uptown, so it is less common to find that kind of food that represents the poor traditions of the street people. That’s why Errico Porzio had a good intuition: opening one of his pizzerias here and selling his pizza a portafoglio. Considering this is in an upscale area, though, the price is above the average.
PIZZA A PORTAFOGLIO IN OTHER COUNTRIES
As pizza has become pretty popular abroad in the street food format, it is quite obvious to think that pizza a portafoglio is sold in many places outside Italy. Unfortunately, this is not always true: some people have tried to popularize this concept, but later they’ve decided to stick to the traditional pizza, served and sliced on a paper plate.
The most popular kind of Neapolitan pizza abroad indeed comes according to the “contemporary” approach: with the inflated crust, and a variety of ingredients generously poured on top. This, from one side, makes the pizza worth every penny spent (as abroad it is usually way more expensive than in Naples); from the other, though, it makes it impossible to fold it, as all the ingredients would be spilled over from every side.
That’s why the concept of Neapolitan pizza a portafoglio is generally unknown abroad.
PIZZA A PORTAFOGLIO: RECIPE FOR HOME COOKING
What if we wanted to make a Neapolitan pizza a portafoglio at home? It’s hard with a domestic oven, but not impossible. Ideally, you’d need a blazing-hot oven reaching over 450°C (840°F) to achieve the leopard-spotting on the crust and a soft dough. But with some tweaks here and there, you can get a decent result even with a traditional oven that only gets to 250°C/480°F.
Recipe for pizza a portafoglio homemade (5 people)
What you need:
Flour 00 or 0 type: 540 gr (weak, 10/11% proteins)
Water: 350 gr
Salt: 6 gr
Fresh yeast: 2 gr
Olive oil: 10 gr (only for the electric oven)
Start pouring water into a bowl, and dissolve the yeast. Once done, add half of the flour, and start mixing with a spoon. You need to move the spoon always from down to the center. At first, the dough will be creamy, like a thick paste. Slowly add more flour to make it more compact, and at this point, add the salt as well. Keep adding flour and mixing with the spoon, and you’ll see the dough will get a softer and more compact texture.
When you’ve used all the flour and the dough is not sticky anymore, let it rest in the bowl for 10 minutes. Cover the bowl. Then, start kneading the dough with your hands, following the same procedure. If you are going to use an electric oven, this is the time to add the olive oil. If you can get to higher temperatures, leave it. Keep kneading, and then let it rest for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, pour the dough onto a worktop that you will have previously covered with some flour. Then, do a series of folds: lift the dough from the center, then fold it on itself. Do it three times: that will strengthen the gluten structure. After three foldings, use your hands to round the dough. Then, put it back into the bowl, and cover it with a lid or cling film.
Put the dough in the fridge for 8 hours: this will be the fermentation period. After that, take the dough out and start balling it up. Every dough ball should be 180 grams. Leave the balls to proof in a closed container for 4 hours.
It’s time to make pizza. The dough balls need to be stretched on a worktop covered with flour. Start gently pressing your fingers from the center to the borders, turning the dough a couple of times. Use the slapping technique to stretch it further, or use your fists, rotating the dough on your knuckles.
When done, start with the toppings. The classic ingredients for pizza a portafoglio are the tomato sauce, and just a tiny bit of fiordilatte. But you can be creative.
If you are using an electric oven that only reaches 250°C/480°F, preheat it 10 minutes before the bake. Put the pizza in a tray on the lower part of the oven. Then, carefully pour a small amount of water into a preheated oven-safe dish at the bottom of the oven and close it immediately: the steam that will generate will help moisten the dough.
After around 7 minutes, move the pizza to the upper side of the oven, as close as possible to the grill. This way, the crust will start to get charred. Don’t leave it too long, though, or it will burn. This is also the moment to add the fiordilatte cheese, if you decided to make a classic Margherita, so it will melt without burning.
After another 3 minutes, the pizza is ready. Wait for it to get a bit colder, then wrap it up in the oven paper. Make sure it folds in your hands, then bite. Buon appetito!
This article was updated in January 2026
