The dream of three friends from Verona, Alessandro Zangrossi, Mattia Ciresola, and Massimo Morbi, has just turned ten. La Balmesina pizzeria (c. Balmes, 193) is celebrating its anniversary with renovations that have given it a facelift (woodwork, artwork, light colors on the walls), while maintaining the quality and good prices that have characterized it since day one. At lunchtime, there's a set menu of starter, main course, and dessert for €15.90, or the pizza menu for €14.90; and in the evening, as well as at lunchtime, they serve pizzas—some of the best pizzas in Barcelona. And it's not just us saying that; the 50 Top Pizza Europe ranking has been saying so for years. Last year, the list ranked La Balmesina eleventh in Europe, and it's possible that this year, the Barcelona pizzeria will climb the ranks and break into the top ten.

Flour, 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.

In 2018, a new pizzeria opened in Sant Cugat del Vallès. The goal of the founders was clear: to bring top-quality artisan pizzas outside of Barcelona. Located in a lush, green space with large outdoor areas, it was an immediate success. Now, seven years later, it's ranked 34th in the prestigious 50 Top World Pizza Chains guide, which selects the best artisan pizza chains in the world. During this time, the business has expanded: there are Garden Pizza restaurants in Granollers, Igualada, Terrassa, and Argentona, and, very recently, in Hospitalet de Llobregat. "The restaurant is unique, informal, and very well-appointed; the pizzas are delicious!" says one of the chain's more than 2,200 reviews on Google. "The setting is beautiful and the terrace is very pleasant," adds another. But what is the secret that has made Garden Pizza grow so rapidly? The answer is paradoxical: doing things little by little.