Araldo Arte del Gusto

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A House Built on Lessinia

Araldo Arte del Gusto is the project of Sonia Gonzi and Vittorio Squaranti — a couple in life and in work — who chose to stay in the Lessinia mountains above Verona and build something rooted in the land they grew up in. The pizzeria opened in 2004, followed four years later by a gelateria whose thread runs through the same territory: fresh mountain milk, local cheeses, artisan cured meats. The place has grown steadily since, but the guiding idea has never shifted — share what Lessinia quietly does best.

That commitment was recognised early. In 2013 Gambero Rosso included Araldo in its national pizza guide, awarding it Due Spicchi — a distinction the restaurant has continued to hold, confirming that what Sonia and Vittorio do here is not an accident of geography but a considered craft.

Pizza as a Living Practice

Vittorio's approach to pizza is one of ongoing curiosity. In recent years he has taken the "Pizze dal Mondo" project on the road — working inside celebrated American pizzerias in Chicago and Detroit, learning dough techniques, fermentation rhythms and oven management from their teams before bringing those lessons back to Bosco Chiesanuova. The doughs at Araldo are described as light "as mountain air," and the toppings lean on zero-kilometre produce from the plateau. The pizzeria opens every evening, and special themed evenings — Chicago-style, Detroit-style — appear on the calendar when Vittorio returns from research trips.

The gelateria runs through the day, drawing on the same local dairy tradition that defines the pizza menu.

Beyond the Table

Araldo has grown into something larger than a restaurant. The Eco-Lodge, inaugurated in 2023, offers accommodation open year-round, with e-bike hire, cross-country skiing and panoramic terraces pointing toward the Lessinia hills. A green spa — the first of its kind on the plateau, built in partnership with Finnish sauna specialists — sits alongside it. Together these spaces make Araldo a base for exploring the territory rather than simply a stop for a meal.

The team is long-established and deliberately small in feel: several members have been with the project since the beginning and now hold senior roles, while new arrivals are trained in-house. That continuity shows in the room — attentive without formality, warm in the way that mountain places tend to be when they mean it.