A mention goes to the location which, as we’ve learnt, is never accidental. Calvi Risorta, also known as Calvi Vecchia, is a treasure trove of history and good food in the Alto Casertano area.

Another thing we have learnt: Caserta and its surroundings are spoiling us with interesting culinary offers, especially when it comes to pizza. The reason is there for all to see: quality, a sense of identity, but also experimentation and an increasingly cosmopolitan approach.

Pizza tells the story of Italy in the world, it makes everyone agree and immediately disagree as soon as there’s an air bubble too many. For our part, we find the research that finally replaces the obsolete extremely interesting. For this reason, Giacomo Garau immediately appeared to us as an excellent testimonial of the new way of understanding pizza and pizzeria.

Olio e basilico to tell the patron's tastes. Together with his choices of supplies, short supply chain and inclusion of the best the area offers. Having the Accademia della Pizza in his backpack of memories, today the plus is his ability to dare. With a strong understanding of the ingredients, like the flour. The world of pizza inevitably revolves around it, so the question is customary.

‘Today I use Petra. I love experimenting and flour is the foundation of my work, I have to be able to rely on it’. As with any self-respecting tasting, Giacomo Garau's pizza is first of all beautiful to look at, colourful, instantly inviting you to bite into it. A fairly pronounced edge and, in an instant, the aroma arrives. Not just of the toppings, but of the dough itself. 

‘Thanks to the pre-ferment with partially sprouted flour. Let's say that every step I take early on, serves to enjoy every bite at the end'.

Tradition and innovation, it sounds rhetorical but it perfectly fits. Contemporary dough, 75% hydration, 24-30 hours between ripening and rising.

Giacomo Garau opened his Olio e Basilico in 2016, wood fire oven, modern décor, indoor and outdoor tables. Today it is, to all intents and purposes, a destination pizzeria, the kind that deserves the trip. Giacomo reciprocates with pizzas, but also with a smile. At ease when it comes to quality flour and ingredients; at the same time humble. The kind of person who doesn’t like empty words, but facts.


Nadia Taglialatela
source: https://www.identitagolose.it/ermes/newsletter/?id=587

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