Florida may not have the centuries-old pizza pedigree of Naples or the foldable-slice mythology of New York. But Vitangelo “Vito” Recchia of Bella Napoli Pizzeria & Restaurant in Port Charlotte and Enrico Aguila of Uncle Rico’s Pizza in Fort Myers are making a strong case that the Sunshine State deserves its own seat at the pizza table.
Both U.S. Pizza Team members earned recognition in Guide to Florida’s 2026 Best of Florida Awards. Bella Napoli was named a statewide winner in two categories, Pizza Joints and Italian Restaurants, while Uncle Rico’s received an honorable mention among Florida’s best pizza joints. Together, the two pizzerias turned the statewide spotlight toward Southwest Florida, where serious pizza makers are building reputations that extend beyond their local neighborhoods.
“People see the finished plate and the dining room,” Recchia, who owns Bella Napoli with his wife Theresa, said. “They don’t necessarily see the long days, the sacrifices, the mistakes, the adjustments and the constant push to get just 1% better.”
Recchia added that the recognition belongs to the entire restaurant. Its employees execute the couple’s vision every day, while loyal guests keep giving them the opportunity to pursue it. “Awards are great, but they don’t give you permission to become comfortable,” he said. “If anything, they raise the standard.”
Winning in both categories recognizes the two sides of Bella Napoli. The Pizza Joints award speaks to the restaurant’s dough, fermentation, ingredients, technique and consistency, while the Italian Restaurants honor encompasses its pasta, entrées, service, atmosphere and, importantly, overall hospitality.
“Technique gets people talking about the food,” Recchia said. “Hospitality gives them a reason to come back.”
That distinction matters because the Best of Florida Awards are fueled by public support. Recchia has competed before professional judges at the World Pizza Championship in Parma, Italy, where every decision can be examined under a culinary microscope. But restaurant customers conduct a different kind of evaluation, he pointed out.
“A competition judge evaluates something you make in that moment,” Recchia said. “Our customers evaluate us every day. They experience the restaurant when we’re busy, when there’s a wait, on a Friday night, on a Tuesday afternoon. They see the entire operation.”
As Recchia sees it, a competition trophy validates the craft, while customer recognition validates both the food and the business built around it. Bella Napoli’s continued appearance among Florida’s best suggests it is succeeding at both. “Consistency is actually harder than innovation,” he said. “Anyone can make something great once. The challenge is doing it hundreds and thousands of times while maintaining the same standard.”
Meanwhile, Aguila’s reaction to Uncle Rico’s statewide recognition is more succinct: “It means that with hard work and perseverance, anything can be achieved.”
That work has moved Uncle Rico’s from a small Fort Myers neighborhood shop to a pizzeria with statewide recognition in only a few years. Aguila credits social media and networking with helping the restaurant reach beyond its immediate market, but its reputation ultimately returns to what comes out of the oven.
Despite his flair for creative pizzas and Peruvian-inspired flavors, Aguila said he would introduce a first-time customer to Uncle Rico’s with the simplest pie on the menu. “Just my basic cheese pie, so you can taste the sauce, the cheese and my artisanal Florida-style crust.”
Specialty toppings can capture attention, Aguila knows, but a cheese pizza leaves the fundamentals standing in the open with nowhere to hide. Sauce, cheese, fermentation, bake and balance have to carry the entire performance.
Uncle Rico’s may bear Aguila’s nickname, but, like Recchia, he doesn’t see the statewide recognition as an individual accomplishment. His wife, Cira, their children and the restaurant’s employees transformed his idea into a thriving family business. “I think they deserve all of the recognition,” he said. “I had the idea, and they all make it happen every day.”
Aguila has experienced the adrenaline of winning professional pizza competitions, including his Pizza a Due victory with his son, Antonio, at the 2025 Galbani Professionale Pizza Cup. But public recognition delivers something different. “Winning competitions, you get a rush of excitement for the prize,” Aguila said. “Whereas recognition from the community is truly humbling, knowing that hundreds of loyal customers choose us every day.”
Recchia and Aguila operate different restaurants and approach pizza from different backgrounds. Bella Napoli combines technical pizza making with a complete Italian dining experience, while Uncle Rico’s pairs New York influences with Aguila’s family story and emerging vision for an artisanal Florida-style crust.
Recchia sees strong local operators as collaborators in building Bella Napoli’s identity. Better pizzerias raise expectations, and higher expectations force everyone to improve. “I want Southwest Florida to become a place where someone can say, ‘You need to go there for pizza,’” he said. “Not because of one restaurant, but because there is an entire community of people taking the craft seriously.”
Aguila thinks that’s already happening. “Florida pizza is now a force to be reckoned with,” he said, “which can stand alongside New York, Connecticut, Chicago and the rest.”
Brian Hernandez is PMQ’s associate editor and coordinator of PMQ’s U.S. Pizza Team.
