BOB Alchimia a Spicchi

The people behind it

Behind BOB are Roberto Davanzo and Anna Rotella, young entrepreneurs from Montepaone who opened the pizzeria in 2016 a short way from the Ionian Coast, in the province of Catanzaro. According to the profile published by Reporter Gourmet, Davanzo entered the restaurant trade at fifteen as a dishwasher in his uncles' hotel in Eraclea, where his passion for cooking began.

Interviewed by Meer magazine in 2023, Davanzo acknowledges a debt to his uncle Paolo, who taught him the trade, and to Michele Intrieri, who helped him build confidence in his own work. The same interview describes a team of almost twenty people sharing in the venue's success and a philosophy summed up in one sentence: in front of a pizza we are all equal. Davanzo and Rotella have carried this spirit beyond the pizzeria too, with BOB Fest and with their network of professionals, the Band of Brothers that gives BOB its name.

Sources: Reporter Gourmet — Roberto Davanzo, pizza maker · Meer — Bob: Alchimia a Spicchi (Vittorio Pio, 22 maggio 2023) · Scatti di Gusto — BOB Festival 2024 a Catanzaro (Manuela Mancino, 3 luglio 2024)

What they make

The pizzeria's website tells the story: BOB began as a small takeaway with a counter devoted to pizza in pala and a bakery in the mornings; after eight months demand led to a dining room, and in 2020 the move to new premises broadened the offer with sharing pizzas and a dedicated dessert section.

Reporter Gourmet describes Davanzo's doughs as highly hydrated, with a pronounced yet light rim, a crisp layer at the edges and a thin centre. In the review published by Scatti di Gusto in May 2026, Alberto Colella counts about twenty different doughs and describes an interplay between pizzeria and restaurant cooking: the pizzas he mentions include the Supermarinizia, with tomato, smoked tomato cream and anchovy ponzu, the Parmigiana in bianco with provola, miso aubergine and pecorino cream, and the Metamorfosi with slow-cooked chicken. No cutlery is brought to the table: the house hashtag is #mangiamiconlemani.

Sources: BOB Alchimia a Spicchi — Chi siamo (sito ufficiale) · Reporter Gourmet — Roberto Davanzo, pizza maker · Scatti di Gusto — Bob Alchimia a Spicchi a Montepaone gioca un campionato magico (Alberto Colella, 24 maggio 2026)

Ingredients and territory

The link with Calabrian produce is the thread the sources find throughout the menu. Davanzo's best-known pizza is the Ricotta e Bergamotta, a sweet pizza combining ricotta and bergamot, the citrus fruit of the province of Reggio Calabria: Gambero Rosso named it best sweet pizza of the year in 2019, as both the pizzeria's website and the Reporter Gourmet profile recall.

The same profile mentions the Amatricalabra, an amatriciana reworked in a Calabrian key, and the Ricordo Mammola, with pink garlic, 'nduja and ricotta from Mammola, the village in the province of Reggio Calabria it is named after. The 2026 Scatti di Gusto review likewise stresses the weight of local ingredients, from bergamot to local cheeses and 'nduja. For readers who want to know these ingredients better, Apulica has a guide to Reggio Calabria bergamot and one to Calabrian 'nduja, covering their history, production area and how to recognise them.

Sources: BOB Alchimia a Spicchi — Chi siamo (sito ufficiale) · Reporter Gourmet — Roberto Davanzo, pizza maker · Scatti di Gusto — Bob Alchimia a Spicchi a Montepaone gioca un campionato magico (Alberto Colella, 24 maggio 2026)

Recognition

BOB's path through the guides is long and documented. The pizzeria's website lists its entry into Gambero Rosso's Pizzerie d'Italia guide in 2018, the best sweet pizza award in 2019, the best regional street food award and the first Three Slices in 2021, the same year it entered the 50 Top Pizza ranking with the award for performance of the year. Meer magazine confirms the Three Slices in 2023.

In Gambero Rosso's Pizzerie d'Italia 2025 guide BOB earns Three Slices with 94 points and the special award for best front-of-house service, according to Scatti di Gusto's report; in the 2026 edition it keeps the Three Slices with 95 points. The 50 Top Pizza guide, in the Italia 2025 ranking published on its own website, places BOB sixteenth and gives it the Oil Valorization 2025 – Il Fritturista award.

Sources: BOB Alchimia a Spicchi — Chi siamo (sito ufficiale) · Meer — Bob: Alchimia a Spicchi (Vittorio Pio, 22 maggio 2023) · Scatti di Gusto — Migliori pizzerie guida Gambero Rosso 2025 · Scatti di Gusto — Tre Spicchi Gambero Rosso 2026, le migliori pizzerie (22 settembre 2025) · 50 Top Pizza — 50 Top Pizza Italia 2025, classifica

Going there

BOB is on Via Don Luigi Sturzo in Montepaone, on the Ionian Coast of the province of Catanzaro, a short way from the sea. The official website gives opening hours from Tuesday to Sunday, in the evening, and the number +39 351 047 5284; the 2026 Scatti di Gusto review recommends booking. The dining room, as described in the same review, has all-round tables arranged symmetrically to form a central nave.

Summer visitors may coincide with BOB Fest, the festival born in 2021 that Davanzo and Rotella organise with their Band of Brothers: according to Scatti di Gusto the 2024 edition gathered more than one hundred and fifty professionals between the Scolacium archaeological park in Borgia and a gala dinner in Curinga, with proceeds going to AIRC research. Meer magazine also mentions the documentary Alchimisti per amore, devoted to the project. It is worth checking dates and hours on the official website before setting out.

Sources: BOB Alchimia a Spicchi — Dove siamo (sito ufficiale) · Scatti di Gusto — Bob Alchimia a Spicchi a Montepaone gioca un campionato magico (Alberto Colella, 24 maggio 2026) · Scatti di Gusto — BOB Festival 2024 a Catanzaro (Manuela Mancino, 3 luglio 2024) · Meer — Bob: Alchimia a Spicchi (Vittorio Pio, 22 maggio 2023)

Products and flavours

Bergamotto di Reggio Calabria (bergamot essential oil)

PDO · Fruit, vegetables and pulses

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Reggio Calabria bergamot

The essential-oil PDO, the three varieties, the winter harvest, the story leading to eau de cologne, the citrus museum and a day between Reggio, its seafront and the coast of bergamot groves.

Read the guide →

Calabrian 'nduja

Pork, plenty of chilli, casing and smoke: 'nduja told from its home on Monte Poro, between Tropea and Capo Vaticano, with its disputed origins, how it is made, how to cook with it and how to buy it.

Read the guide →

Photo: Alice Wiegand / Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized and converted to WebP.

The region

Calabria