Pizzeria 081: Melegnano calls, Naples answers

He’s been using long maturations, from 24 to 36 hours, depending on humidity and temperature. He uses a typical Neapolitan dough: mother yeast and Petra stone-milled flour from Molino Quaglia. So that clients can immediately understand where he comes from, he chose the dialling code of Naples for his name, so his restaurant, only a short walk from the Medici castle in Melegnano, in the province of Milan, is called Pizzeria 081 (via Castellini 31, Tel. +39 375 5388889, 081pizzeria.com, closed on Tuesday)

The owner is Francesco Saggese, 31. After 15 years in the kitchens of fine dining restaurants in Milan (Bulgari Hotel with chef Elio Sironi, Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia, Michelangelo Restaurant in Linate with chef Michelangelo Citino) he listened to his Neapolitan heart and together with his brother Davide (an accountant now working in the restaurant industry) he fulfilled his dream: he opened a real Neapolitan pizzeria though with gourmet inspiration. «When Neapolitans eat pizza, they always criticise it, examine it, praise it: those who are born in Naples have an innate passion for pizza – Francesco says – For us it’s something sacred, it’s not just a way of filling your stomach: it’s a ritual, a tradition. When I decided to open a pizzeria after visiting a few places in Milan I ended up in the province, in Melegnano, and immediately liked the place. I opened in October 2017. At first, we could only seat 50 people, we often had to send clients away or were not able to accept reservations because there were no more tables left. In March 2018 we decided to double the restaurant, creating a more elegant, soundproofed room, with dim lights, designed by my brother Davide and his wife Marta. We now seat 110 guests».

Pizzas here have strictly Neapolitan names: 'A Margherit, A' Bufal, A'Norma, as well as specialties like 081 (yellow cherry tomatoes from Corbara, anchovies from Cetara, taggiasche olives, shaved caciocavallo, basil and extra virgin olive oil), Napoli 2.0 (yellow tomato, corbarino tomatoes, anchovies from Cetara, oregano and extra virgin olive oil) or Pistacchio e Murtadell. The seasonal pizzas are listed on the blackboards hanging on the walls, such as the tasty Tartufo with cream of white truffle, porcini, fior di latte from Agerola, flakes of black truffle and Parmigiano Reggiano matured 24 months, or Zucca, with pumpkin cream, smoked provola, sausage, porcini and oil aromatised with rosemary.

Pizzeria 081
via Castellini 31, Melegnano (Mi)
tel. +39 375 5388889
081pizzeria.it

Translated into English by Slawka Scarso