About us

Our story

The beauty of Prague and a unique business opportunity, provided us with the chance to represent an aspect of our Italian culture. Which convinced us to open Rugantino in October 1994. During the first weeks, after many request to add ketchup on our pizzas, we asked ourselves if we had to adapt our menu to the taste of our host Country. That has been the most important moment for us. We decided that our philosophy has to be, to maintain original Italian recipes providing our costumer a chance to better recognize and appreciate our real Italian cuisine. Since the beginning, we owe our success and gratitude to our fast Mediterranean service, our customer, and our associates.
THANK YOU

The history of pizza

Pizza has an ancient tradition. It began its roots in the Mediterranean cuisine made by simple and essential dishes. There is evidence in the history, about our ancestors and coarse "schiacciate", cooked on oak stones, prepared with selvatic cereal seeds. During the Romanic age, there are many references regarding "focacce", our primitive pizzas. After the year 1500 there have been found many quotations about the preparation of pizza in cook books printed in different Italian towns. The discovery of the Americas will enable corn to spread all over Europe, changing the food habits. In northern Italy, the new cultivations took the place of wheat. Only in the southern part, did the people continue to use wheat, preparing even more rich and elaborate "schiacciate", becoming for them one of the basic foods. During the 17th century a particular pizza appeared, characterized by the scent of basil. Later the Italians started to season pasta and pizzas with a new fruit imported from the Americas; the tomato. In that time, buffalo mozzarella also started to be a basic ingredient. The first recipe of pizza, as we actually know it, is probably the one mentioned in a cook book printed in Napoli in 1858. It was written the way how the "real Neapolitan pizza" had to be prepared; listing different kinds of pizzas, popular in the pizzerias that brought life to Napoli, and that are the base of the modern art of "pizzaiolo".