Installation guide

Pompeii Oven Instructions

Tuscan vs. Neapolitan Style Wood-

Fired Ovens

There are two basic styles of Italian wood-fired pizza oven:

the Neapolitan oven, which has a more aggressive curve,

flatter dome, and a lower dome height, and the Tuscan

oven, which has less aggressive curve and a higher dome.

While both oven styles perform well with all types of

cooking, it is said that the Naples-style oven is more tuned

to pizza, because the lower dome gets hotter and reflects

more heat from the fire for cooking pizza.

Because the Tuscan design has a larger oven space

above the door opening, it is more efficient at holding heat,

and uses less wood. It also has a larger door opening for

larger roasts and pans, making it better for cooking bread

and roasting. It is probably also true that the higher dome

is somewhat easier to build, as the inward curve is less

pronounced, and there is less risk of a chain of bricks

falling in before they are locked in place with a keystone.

The higher curve of the Tuscan oven.

A taller first course and steeper, lower dome characterize

the Naples-style oven.

Still, it is our view that the differences between the two

oven styles have be exaggerated, and we heartily believe

that you will be extremely happy with either design, or if

you choose to build your own hybrid between the two.

Practically speaking, the dome height difference between

the two oven styles in a typical 36” backyard oven is about

3”-4”.

You can make perfect Pizza Napoletana in a higher

domed oven, and you can bake and roast in a lower dome

oven. The only real limitation is that with its physically

lower dome, and resulting smaller oven opening, the

Naples-style oven can keep you from cooking larger

roasts or from using certain types of pans. Regardless of

which style you choose, the parabolic oven dome shape

serves to evenly reflect heat down on the cooking surface.