Topping the list of this year’s Best Pizza Awards is a pizzaiolo who started out at the bottom—scrubbing a pizzeria’s toilets and washing the dirty dishes when he was just 10 years old.
That pizzaiolo is Francesco Martucci, ranked No. 1 in the world by the Milan, Italy-based Best Pizza Awards, a project organized by The Best Chef. Notably, it’s a repeat win for Martucci, the chef/owner of I Masanielli in Caserta, Italy—he also claimed the No. 1 spot in 2025.
Taking second place was Roberto Davanzo of Bob Alchimia a Spicchi in Montepaone, Italy. Third place went to Francesco Capece of Confine in Milan, Italy. The No. 4 spot went to Daniele Cason of The Pizza Bar on 38th in Tokyo, while Gabriele Bonci of Pizzarium in Rome took fifth place.
Scroll to bottom to watch a highlight video of the Best Pizza Awards ceremony.
The U.S. placed 15 pizza makers in 14 ranked positions (for No. 57-ranked Ceres, two chefs were listed), with two American legends reaching the top 10: Anthony Mangieri of New York City’s Una Pizza Napoletana at No. 7 and Dan Richer of Razza Pizza Artigianale in Jersey City at No. 10. Mangieri also received the Pizza Icon Award for 2026.
Click here to view the full Top 100 list.
Women did not feature prominently in the Best Pizza Awards, with a total of only 11 making the list (including a three-woman team at Locandra Sa Matracca) and just one—Amalia Constantini of Mater in Rome, Italy—cracking the top 10 at No. 9. The American women are certainly rock stars, though: Giorgia Caporuscio of NYC’s Don Antonio at No. 34 (up from last year’s No. 52 spot) and Marisol Doyle of Leña Pizza and Bagels in Cleveland, Mississippi at No. 48 (up from No. 77 in 2025). In addition, Laura Meyer, owner of Pizzeria Da Laura in Berkeley, California, and Floriana Pastore of Las Vegas’s Signora Pizza made the “Ones to Follow” list—a new category for 2026. Pastore also won the Best Street Pizza Award, and Constantini took home the Best Pizza FoodArt Award.
Back to Martucci (pictured above). He’s a tattooed and physically imposing figure in person, but he’s repeatedly described as humble, grounded and conscious of his humble beginnings. Born to a teenage mom, he told Best Pizza Awards that he “grew up in a bit of a rough neighborhood.”
“I still remember some of the other kids’ parents didn’t want them playing with me—they thought I wasn’t good enough. So for me, everything I’ve achieved feels like a way of proving something, a kind of payback,” he said.
He and his siblings founded I Masanielli in 2001 as strictly a delivery and carryout operation. When he was ready to “open a proper pizzeria with tables” in 2012, he recalled, “no one wanted to give me a loan. I heard a lot of nos before finally opening I Masanielli on Viale Lincoln, thanks to a €15,000 loan and the support of some friends.”
“The first years were tough,” he continued. “I remember one Friday night—the place was empty. A family came in, looked around and quickly left. That moment hit me hard, but it strengthened my resolve. You can’t expect to be liked by everyone. What matters is staying true to your vision and connecting with those who believe in it.”
Unlike the annual 50 Top Pizza ranking, The Best Pizza Awards’ honorees are selected by 392 pizza chefs and an international panel of 168 industry professionals, such as food journalists, critics and other notable individuals with a connection to the pizza world.
Potential award winners include the top 100 recipients from the previous year’s list as well as 100 new pizzaioli selected by voters in early 2026. The final list of 200 candidates is ultimately whittled down to the top 100. Check this link for a detailed explanation of the voting process.
Here’s a look at the full list of Americans who made the list:
No. 7: Anthony Mangieri, Una Pizza Napoletana, New York
No. 10: Dan Richer, Razza Pizza Artigianale, Jersey City, NJ
No. 22: Mark Iacono, Lucali, New York
No. 28: Wylie Dufresne, Stretch Pizza, New York
No. 32: Chris Decker, Truly Pizza, Dana Point, CA
No. 34: Giorgia Caporuscio, Don Antonio, New York
No. 35: Tony Gemignani, Tony’s Pizza Napoletana, San Francisco
No. 40: Javier Ramirez, La Natural, Miami
No. 48: Marisol Doyle, Leña Pizza and Bagels, Cleveland, MS
No. 52: Massimo Laveglia, L’Industrie, New York
No. 54: William Sang Woo Joo, Pizzeria Sei, Los Angeles
No. 57: Jake Serebnick & Julian Geldmacher, Ceres, New York
No. 71: Juan G. Perez, Posto, Boston
No. 76: Justin De Leon, Appollonia’s Pizzeria, Los Angeles
U.S. chefs who landed on the “Ones to Follow” list are:
Roberto Caporuscio, Kesté Pizza & Vino, New York
Frank Tuttolomondo, Mama’s TOO!, New York
Laura Meyer, Pizzeria Da Laura, Berkeley, CA
Floriana Pastore, Signora Pizza, Las Vegas
Salvatore Carlino, Lucia Pizza, New York
Daniele Uditi, Pizzana, Los Angeles
Alejandro Diaz, Jose Maria Cardenas and Santiago Huen, Miami Slice, Miami
