World Pizza Championship: Italy wins the most awards, while Japan wins Margherita and Marinara

Italy first in the Nations Cup, Japan protagonist

The most significant result of the competition concerns the comparison between the international delegations. Italy earned seven medals, in addition to the award for the youngest pizza chef and the three joint winners of the Best Baker title. Japan, on the other hand, collected four medals, with two first-place finishes in the categories considered among the most representative of the competition: Margherita and Marinara. This result confirms the increasingly established presence of Neapolitan pizza in the Japanese gastronomic scene. Portugal earned two medals, while one medal each went to the delegations of Chile, Germany, Canada, South Korea, Spain, the United States, and Austria.

True Neapolitan Pizza Champion 2026: 27 pizza chefs awarded

Twenty-seven pizza chefs received awards in the competition's seven categories: Margherita, Marinara, Fried Pizza, Mastunicola, Neapolitan Calzone, For Gourmets, and Amateurs. Added to these accolades was the title of Best Baker, awarded jointly to three Italian competitors: Samuele Traviglia, Roberto Daffinito, and Salvatore Santucci. The special awards also included names from countries outside Italy. Among the names nominated by the organizers was Claudia Pelletier, from Canada, who was awarded the highest-scoring female competitor. Emanuele Rossi, a 21-year-old Italian, was recognized as the youngest pizza chef in the competition.

From Chile to Naples, over 12,000 kilometers

One of the most interesting numbers about the 2026 edition comes from the distance traveled to Naples. Chilean Gonzalo Garay was listed as the competitor who came from the furthest, at 12,034 kilometers. This figure also reflects the competition's geographic reach: participating countries include European, Asian, American, and Oceanian nations, confirming a particularly broad international participation. Among the main ones are Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, South Korea, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, the United Kingdom, the Dominican Republic, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, and the United States.

The competition pits pizza schools from around the world against each other.

The uniqueness of the Vera Pizza Napoletana Champion lies not only in the number of participants. The competition pits pizza chefs trained in very different contexts against each other, but they are challenged to measure themselves against common parameters related to the preparation of Neapolitan pizza. Antonio Pace, president of the AVPN, emphasized this aspect: "The high caliber of the competing competitors and the passion demonstrated have highlighted the value of our Association in defining shared parameters and methods that can be applied in every context, by every pizza chef," said Antonio Pace, president of the AVPN. "Three extraordinary days in which hundreds of pizza chefs from far-flung countries demonstrated their careful and expert interpretation of Neapolitan tradition, based on the AVPN specifications." The international competition thus also becomes a way to observe how Neapolitan pizza is interpreted outside of Italy, while maintaining the reference to the Association's specifications.

Margherita and Marinara, Japan's double gold medal

Among the results of the 2026 edition, Japan's double success stands out, with two of its competitors taking top spot in the Margherita and Marinara categories. This is a particularly significant achievement because it involves two preparations that are immediately associated with the identity of Neapolitan pizza. This achievement builds on the AVPN's well-established relationship with the world of Japanese pizza and contributes to a competition in which international competition is no longer a marginal element.

The list of all the winners

Nations Cup - Lello Surace Trophy.

• Italy

Category Margherita

• Yokoyama Ginya (Japan)
• Renato Colombo (Chile)
• Hirotada Tsuda (Japan)

Marine Category

• Nunome Daisaku (Giappone)
• Vito Iacopelli (USA)
• Fabrizio Capobianco (Austria)

Mastunicola Category

• Luca Di Massa (Italy)
• Simon Melki (Canada)
• Tomoyuki Kohno (Japan)

Neapolitan Calzone Category

• Mahbub Alam (Portogallo)
• Sumair Khan (Portugal)
• Fulvio Belfiore (Italy)

Fried Pizza Category

• Carmine Apetino (Italy)
• Taeksub Lee (South Korea)
• Salvatore Ambrosino (Spain)

Gourmet Pizza Category

• Antonio Politelli (Italy)
• Roberto Daffinito (Italy)
• Sinan Batur (Germania)

Amateur Category

• Stefano Di Filippo (Italy)
• Patryk Chorazy (Polonia)
• Massimo Foli (Italy)

Best Baker Award

• Samuele Traviglia (Italy)
• Roberto Daffinito (Italy)
• Salvatore Santucci (Italy)

Female Pizza Maker Award

• Claudia Pelletier (Canada)

Youth Award

• Emanuele Rossi (Italy)

Farthest Pizza Maker Award

• Gonzalo Garay (Chile)

Creative Garden Award

• Carla Dall'Orto (Brazil)

100% Campania Award

• Diego Santucci (Italy)

Neapolitan pizza and the Mediterranean diet are at the center of the debate.

In addition to the competitions, the program also addressed the professional role of the pizza chef and that of Neapolitan pizza within the Mediterranean Diet. The conference "Let's Pizza Again: Art Becomes a Profession. True Pizza, Ambassador of the Mediterranean Diet" focused on the potential legal recognition of the pizza chef and the guarantees associated with the profession and the protection of this heritage of skills. The discussion then focused on the relationship between Neapolitan pizza, nutrition, local area, raw materials, and short supply chains, broadening the discussion from product preparation to its connection to the gastronomic and production system.

AVPN is already looking at Paris 2027

Among the events highlighted at the end of the event is the award ceremony for the Selection France Special Prize, linked to the partnership with Parizza 2027, scheduled for March 2027 in Paris. Stefano Auricchio, director of the AVPN, commented on the outcome of the event: "There were many important moments," emphasized Stefano Auricchio, director of the AVPN, "including the award ceremony for the Selection France Special Prize, which in some way confirms the important partnership with Parizza 2027, which will be held in March 2027." The Neapolitan event thus concludes with a summary of competition, training, professional exchange, and international relations.

When Naples Became the Meeting Point of World Pizza

The most interesting fact about the Vera Pizza Napoletana Champion 2026 isn't just the number of Italian medals. The 355 pizza chefs from 30 countries demonstrate how the Neapolitan pizza model has become part of the international gastronomic scene. The presence of competitors from very diverse geographical areas and the result achieved by Japan, with two gold medals in the Margherita and Marinara categories, speak to a phenomenon that goes beyond simple competition. Naples remains the venue for the competition, but the competition now involves an international community of professionals who compete on dough, craftsmanship, ingredients, and adherence to the AVPN specifications.