“Va Fa Napoli” is typically a derogatory phrase suggesting somewhere the speaker hopes you’ll visit soon. Spoiler alert: It ain’t Naples. However, our newest Farmers’ Market vendor wants to change all that.
“You may have heard Joey from the TV show Friends or Tony Soprano in the Sopranos say it sort of like ‘Go to h—‘ but we want to turn that idea around,” the owners of Va Fa Napoli Pizza note. “Naples is a beautiful city, the land of love, the beautiful bay of Napoli, music, culture, art . . .and the birthplace of pizza,” the owners note.
Va Fa Napoli Pizza makes its first appearance at our market this Sunday. Owners Carlo, Faith and Giancarlo Truppi employ a self-sustained mobile pizzeria to create fresh-baked pizzas right at the market. Their dough is handmade using centuries-old Neapolitan methods, and their pizza toppings are always the highest quality, freshest ingredients.
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According to Va Fa Napoli Pizza’s website, the story actually begins about 21 miles northeast of Naples in the town of Airola, where in 1969 Pasquale Truppi left his hometown to create a better life for his family in the United States. Growing up in the family tomato business, Pasquale always knew the value of fresh ingredients as did his wife Civita, who always made everything from “scratch.” He eventually began working in a pizzeria in Raritan, and settled his family there. His son, Carlo, was born in Naples. At a young age, Carlo and his siblings began cooking dinners while his parents worked long hours to give their children the “American Dream.”
In 1992, Carlo married his wife Faith who had roots in Naples too. Carlo often made pizza for his growing family in their home kitchen for his three children and dreamed of having his own brick oven in the backyard. In the meantime, the family set down new roots here in Hunterdon County. Carlo and Faith are proud members of the Italian American Heritage Club of Hunterdon County, and Faith is a bi-lingual volunteer at the Flemington Food Pantry and has also worked at Safe in Hunterdon with Carol Dvoor.
That happened in 2020. Carlo received a gas-fired pizza oven that could reach 900 degrees; it became the highlight of the outdoor kitchen he built with his son Giancarlo. With a worldwide pandemic in full swing, Carlo worked to perfect his Neapolitan pizza using 00 flour (a finely ground Italian flour commonly used to make pasta and pizza dough) available. He taught Giancarlo how to make pizza, and soon friends and neighbors were so enamored with their creations they suggested the Truppis open their own pizzeria. Though starting his freshman year of college, Giancarlo began dreaming of owning his own business. Father and son developed a business plan, and Faith found the perfect Neapolitan oven.
And that’s how Và Fa Napoli Pizza was born! Now all that’s left is for you to visit our Farmers’ Market and try Va Fa Napoli Pizza yourself. We’ll see you this Sunday at the Dvoor Farm; we’re open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
