Leggera Pizza Napoletana, in São Paulo, was named the third-best pizzeria in the world by the Italian guide 50 Top Pizza. The awards were announced on Tuesday, September 9th.
Run by Brazilian chef André Guidon, of Italian descent, the restaurant was behind only the American Una Pizza Napoletana and the Italian I Masanielli, which shared first place, and the Japanese The Pizza Bar on 38th, in second.
Leggera has locations in the Pompeia and Jardins neighborhoods. In 2023, it was recognized as the best Neapolitan pizza in the world. This year, it was also named the best pizzeria in Latin America for the second consecutive year.
Guidon lived for about a year in Naples, Italy, where he specialized in the Neapolitan tradition. He learned local techniques and customs in a city whose pizzeria culture has been considered an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO since 2017.
The pizzeria is a benchmark for Neapolitan pizza in São Paulo. It was one of the first to introduce this artisanal pizza in the city, where pizza is often enjoyed in the evenings, in groups.
Other Brazilian restaurants also appeared on the list of the 100 best pizzerias in the world. They are: Ferro e Farinha (31st), QT Pizza (36th), Unica Pizzeria (50th) and Veridiana (96th).
