PIZZA CAPITAL
OF THE WORLD?
A former coal town in Pennsylvania with about 8,000 people, more than a dozen pizzerias, and a title it gave itself.
THE SHORT ANSWER
Old Forge, Pennsylvania calls itself the Pizza Capital of the World. The title is self-proclaimed: the town's pizza makers created the slogan and pooled their money to promote the whole town. Here you order a tray, not a pie, and you eat cuts, not slices.
THE STORY IN BRIEF
Naples invented pizza. New York taught it to fold. Chicago turned it into a casserole. But the pizza capital of the world? According to its own signs, it's a former coal town in northeastern Pennsylvania.
Meet Old Forge, PA: about 8,000 people, more than a dozen pizzerias, roughly three square miles. Here you order a tray, not a pie, and you eat cuts, not slices. We trace how coal, Italian immigrants from Felitto, and a legendary pan of dough (documented? not exactly) built a style of pizza the whole town is proud to defend.
TALK LIKE A LOCAL
TRAY
A whole pizza. Not a pie.
CUT
A slice. You order it by the cut.
RED
With tomato sauce.
WHITE
Usually double-crusted with a cheese filling.
WHAT'S PROVEN, WHAT'S LEGEND
DOCUMENTED
The "pizza capital of the world" title is self-proclaimed. Old Forge's pizza makers created the slogan and pooled their money to promote the whole town. It's not an official ranking.
LEGEND
The Philomena and Erminio Ghigiarelli card-game story (as early as 1926) is local legend, passed down through family and community rather than written records.
DOCUMENTED
Many Old Forge families trace their roots to Felitto, a mountain town in the province of Salerno. The two towns were recognized as sister cities in the Congressional Record in September 2024.
CHECK FIRST
Victory Pig opened in 1942 and was known for pan-fried square pizza and honk-and-flash drive-up service. Local news reported it was closing, so check before you visit.
CHAPTERS
0:00Three cities, one big claim0:06The pizza capital of the world?0:19Ground rules: trays and cuts0:34Coal country, early 1900s0:47From Felitto to the Lackawanna Valley1:00Where history hands the mic to legend1:24Documented? Not exactly1:36The tray spreads, family by family1:46Red and white2:02Wyoming Valley: Victory Pig and pagach2:20Who chose the title?2:34Naples might object2:44Not the only small town with a big claim
SOURCES
- Engle Online — Old Forge pizza history and the Ghigiarelli family ↗
- PMQ Pizza Magazine — Old Forge pizza and the "pizza capital" slogan ↗
- CNN Travel — Dough rising in Pizza Capital of the World (2008) ↗
- Congressional Record — Old Forge and Felitto, Italy as sister cities (2024) ↗
- FOX56 — Inside the tradition of Old Forge, the "Pizza Capital of the World" ↗
- Discover NEPA — Pizza Capital of the World guide ↗
- Times Leader / AOL — On the Pizza Trail: Victory Pig ↗
- FOX56 — Victory Pig to serve last tray ↗
- Wikipedia — Old Forge, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania ↗
Spot something we got wrong? Tell us in the comments. Locals always know best.
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