• The second edition of the L'Arte della Pizza festival takes place between September 4 and 7 in Oradea and offers a complete immersion in the universe of authentic pizza.
For four days, the city's central spaces will be enveloped in the aromas of tomatoes, basil and freshly baked dough and will be animated with demonstrations by international masters and evenings with live music.
The first three days are open to the general public. Visitors can watch the entire preparation process – from kneading the dough to removing it from the oven – in a setting that recreates the vibrant atmosphere of Italian markets. The organizers are counting on a sensory and relaxed experience, inspired by the concept of "la dolce vita", with evenings spent under the open sky.
Pizza Cup Romania final: maximum pressure in five minutes
On Monday, September 7, the event moves into an exclusively professional zone. The Pizza Cup Romania Final brings together top pizza chefs who will compete according to an extremely strict rule: each one has only five minutes to complete a pizza.
The competition is divided into three distinct categories:
- Neapolitan Pizza STG
- Classic Pizza
- Contemporary Pizza
The jury applies clear technical criteria. In the Contemporary category, for example, the dough must weigh exactly 280 grams, the diameter of the disc must be between 30 and 32 centimeters, and corniceThe cake must be 3-4 centimeters high and have an aerated structure. The competition takes place in Ferdinand Square, and the public is invited to witness the preparation and taste the competitors' creations.
Masters with world titles on the Oradea stage
This year's edition brings to Oradea some of the most awarded pizza chefs of the moment.
Cristian Meleacă from Oradea comes after winning the Pizza & Vino category at the World Pizza Championship – Trofeo Caputo, held in Naples in 2026. Alongside him are Croatian Alen Radanović, 2024 world champion in Pizza di Stagione, and Italian Pasquale Poerio, 2024 laureate in Pizza Contemporanea, according to the official results of the APN.
Giuseppe Cardone is also not missing, with three world titles under his belt: Classic Pizza (2019), Gourmet Pizza (2021) and Team Pizza (2022). In 2023, he also took second place in the gluten-free category.
The evaluation is provided by a jury formed by representatives of the Associazione Pizzaiuoli Napoletani. Among those present are Gianluca Pirro, president of the APN, Igor Zagaiski, delegate of the association, Eduardo Mainardi, owner of Mainardi Food Distribution, and Eugen Pocian, APN ambassador and instructor.
The L'Arte della Pizza Festival thus combines demonstrations for the public with an elite competition, offering visitors, for four days, a direct perspective on the excellence of Neapolitan pizza.
Article source: The Neapolitan Pizza Festival returns to the center of Oradea: international masters and the Pizza Cup Romania final
Article written by Gabriela Dan, Editor-in-Chief Arta Albă
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