The "pizza owner's son" causing queues in the Sant Antoni neighborhood

BarcelonaFlour, dough, and the art of working with it have been part of Antonio Verdicchio's life since he was a child. Born near Florence and raised near Naples, his grandparents were bakers who baked bread in the basement of their home, while his father, Mario, made his way as a pizza maker and had a restaurant in San Felice a Cancello, thirty kilometers from the capital of Campania. "He would get up at four in the morning to open the pizzeria, which was next to a school, and people would buy their children's lunch. Everyone knew my father," he recalls. Antonio, in fact, grew up as "the son of the pizzaiolo". From him he learned the trade and the passion for pizza (Neapolitan, of course), the keys that explain why now, at 39 years old, he is successful with La Piccolina, the pizzeria he opened almost two years ago in Barcelona and with which he has won over the neighborhood of Sant Antoni.

Located at number 60 Sepúlveda Street, on the corner where until a few years ago El Caliuet, a long-standing bar, was located, the dimensions of the establishment live up to its name. Inside there is only room for a narrow counter, almost attached to the area where the pizzas are prepared, and the terrace is designed for about ten people. Most customers, however, order to go, and they are the ones who fill the queues that, especially at night, form under the striking red letters of La Piccolina. One of the secrets of the restaurant's success – and hence, again, the name – are the pizzas of 24 cm, which are sold for a few hours each day at a price between 3.50 and 8 euros, half the price of the largest (33 cm). The format, designed for a quick bite on the go and popular with young customers, is inspired by pizzas. toportfolio (from a wallet), which in Naples would be eaten folded over themselves. "Here people were surprised, so I serve them on the plate," explains Antonio.

The oven never stops, and the influx of customers is offset by the speed of the service. "Neapolitan pizza is cooked at over 400 degrees, it takes about 70 seconds to cook, and then it's ready," Antonio recalls. The extensive menu combines the most authentic variations, such as the Margherita or the Salsiccia e Friarielli, with the pizza chef's own creations. The Mister Tony stands out, with pancetta, cherry tomatoes, arugula and provolone; the Regina Mortadella, with a ball of burrata in the center and pistachio sauce, or Brutal, an explosion of flavors with guanciale, red onion, stracciatella Burrata, black olives, and garlic. And all with 100% Italian ingredients: from the flour used to make the dough to the mozzarella, San Marzano tomatoes, and Parma ham. "Even the olive oil comes from Italy," Antonio emphasizes. His goal is for each bite to mentally transport us to the land of the wineskin.

Despite claiming his roots in every detail—the Napoli crest is clearly visible on one of the walls—this pizza chef's career can't be understood without Barcelona. And yet, he arrived in the city by chance. It was 2009 when, with hospitality studies and a first experience in a restaurant in Florence, life called for a change of scenery. "I took a globe, spun it, and stopped it with my finger," he says. The result: the Catalan capital. He landed in the city at 23 years old and without any plans, but within twenty days he was already working at the Neapolitan restaurant Gusto, next to the Hospital Clínic. He would later move on to Rosso Pomodoro in Les Arenas, La Forchetta in Sant Martí, and the Murivecchi of El Born, and in 2018 he took on a bigger challenge: designing and launching the first Da Nanni restaurant, on Llibreteria street.

After five years building the project – which now has seven locations in Barcelona and has been recognized by the prestigious 50 Top Pizza list– Antonio needed "new challenges." He had a very clear idea for a pizzeria in his head, and the location on Sepúlveda Street, where all attempts to succeed El Caliuet had failed, was a perfect fit. He spent all his savings and spent the first six months working nonstop and practically alone, but he made it. The good product, the friendly service, and word of mouth quickly earned his pizzas a following, first among the neighbors and then, in an increasingly gentrified neighborhood, among tourists. Also among the fans on their way to the Olympic Stadium, where Barça played this past season.

With more than 1,800 reviews and a Google rating of 4.9 out of 5, the highest among the surrounding pizzerias, Antonio is already thinking about opening a second location. For now, he's managed to take two days off a week and expand the restaurant's staff with his own family, who came from Italy. Mario, his father and the origin of it all, arrived a year ago to help with the dough and in the kitchen, where he prepares everything from gnocchi to lasagna and tiramisu, which are offered off-menu. His father's partner, Jacqueline, serves customers, and Jennifer, Antonio's younger sister, manages the day-to-day running of the restaurant.

The Verdicchios are now just another family in the neighborhood, for whom Antonio only has words of gratitude. Children greet him as they leave the nearby schools, and he often brings a smile to their faces with heart-shaped pizzas, and he sells the older women bread he bakes with leftover pizza dough. As he tells the story, the conversation returns to his grandparents' oven and the pizzeria where he spent so many hours as a child. And he admits that he has fulfilled a dream: to continue the family legacy. "I finally made it," he says.The story has taken a complete turn. Now Mario, proud of his son, is "Antonio's father," pizzaiolo from the neighborhood.