Naples Pizza Tour Launches
Naples, Florida's "A Slice of Naples Food Tour" runs March 26 from 4:30pm-8:30pm, guiding visitors to hidden-gem pizzerias. The tour combines signature slices with stories behind local favorites, connecting authentic American-Italian traditions with community culture. It's designed for pizza aficionados seeking deeper culinary context.
The "A Slice of Naples Food Tour" is operated by Paradise Food Tours, founded by U.S. Navy veteran Liz Valdez. Her company, initially launched in 2022 as Driven Foodie Tours, started with the area's first taco tour and has since expanded to include a variety of culinary explorations in Southwest Florida. Paradise Food Tours also offers a "Naples Pizza Wars Tour," a competitive tasting journey through different pizzerias, and "Ciao Down Naples," which focuses on a broader range of Italian cuisine. The city of Naples itself has a historical connection to Italy, which predates its culinary scene. In the 1870s and 1880s, promoters and journalists described the area's bay as "surpassing the bay in Naples, Italy," leading to the adoption of the name. This historical naming convention provides a unique backdrop for a tour celebrating one of Italy's most famous culinary exports. While the specific pizzerias on the tour are kept as a surprise for attendees, the Naples area boasts a diverse pizza landscape. Local pizzerias serve a range of styles, from traditional Neapolitan with wood-fired crusts to classic New York-style slices. Establishments like Rosedale Brick Oven Pizza are known for using authentic ingredients like imported Caputo "00" flour and D.O.P. Certified San Marzano tomatoes to create their pies. The tour taps into a significant and growing culinary tourism market in Collier County. Tourism is a primary economic engine for the region, supporting tens of thousands of jobs. In the 2024-2025 fiscal year, visitor bed tax collections in Collier County rose by 13% to nearly $50 million, indicating a strong and recovering tourism sector. Food-focused tours contribute to this by attracting visitors who often spend more and stay longer, directly benefiting local restaurants and the wider service industry. The local Italian-American culture is actively preserved and celebrated by organizations like The Naples Italian American Foundation. This nonprofit group fosters community through cultural events and educational programs that highlight Italian heritage and traditions in Southwest Florida, providing a cultural anchor to the culinary experiences offered by tours like "A Slice of Naples."
