It is said that Paduans got to know the real Neapolitan pizza thanks to Mario Zanchi, a fabric merchant from Thiene, who often travelled to Naples on business. The year was 1953 and, as a good entrepreneur, Mr. Zanchi decided to import this tasty dish to Veneto, inviting a pizza maker, Gennaro (real name, Mario Balì), and opening a pizzeria on Piazza dei Signori. It was immediately a great success, in so much as that it was necessary to queue to get in.
In 1956, during the college freshers’ party, as many as 1500 pizzas were baked.
Since 1981, La Lanterna is managed by Antonio Ruggiero, from Salerno, who along with his son Mario continues the tradition of good pizza.
The Lanterna has 70 varieties of pizzas on its menu, including the traditional pizza “a la Napoletana,” that is, small in diameter and bearing a raised edge, and a range of a la carte dishes: typical dishes from Veneto and Salerno, based on meat and fish. When the weather is good, from March to September, you can dine outdoors, at the tables set up on the superb Piazza.
