The Nonna Inspired Story Behind Perth’s Calda Calda Pizza Bases

Every Sunday, Aurelio Nappa’s Nonna made pizza at home. Nothing elaborate, just red onions and mozzarella, and the quiet joy of watching her family love what she cooked. She had a saying that has stayed with him ever since: mangia la pizza ora che è calda calda. Eat the pizza now, while it is hot-hot.

That saying became the name of his business. Calda Calda is Aurelio’s homage to the woman who taught him that food is best when it is shared, and this November he is bringing it to Perth Upmarket.

His path to pizza is not the one you might expect. Aurelio is a civil engineer who spent more than a decade on construction sites across three continents, building bridges and large concrete structures. He studied in France, spent six months in Senegal, and arrived in Australia in 2023 to follow Laura, a Perth-born Australian, working for two years as a Senior Project Engineer in Karratha.

The pizza came during Covid, when he was stuck in a tiny Paris flat, craving a good one. Being an engineer, he decided it was easier to learn than to wait. He began learning from Italian pizza consultant Giovanni Tesauro in April 2020 and has not stopped since.

When he settled in Perth, Aurelio noticed a gap. Home cooks, parents and busy professionals had few options for a really good pizza at home, with the toppings they love, in under ten minutes. He believes the time families spend together after a long day is sacred, and that less time in the kitchen means more time connecting.

So in November 2024 he registered the business and began building it from scratch. For more than a year he lived a double life, working twelve hour FIFO shifts in the Pilbara, then using his weeks off to rent a pizza shop by the hour and bake for the Subiaco and Stirling farmers markets. In December 2025 he left engineering behind to give Calda Calda everything he had.

Calda Calda does one thing, and does it with care. Roman Pala sourdough pizza bases, in medium and large, handmade in a small lab in O’Connor with imported Italian flour, extra virgin olive oil and purified water. No preservatives and no seed oils. Each base takes around 36 hours to come to life, and is hand packed to stay fresh in the pantry for six weeks.

Every ingredient choice costs more, and Aurelio makes it anyway. Italian flour, which he finds gentler on the stomach. Extra virgin olive oil, which brings real flavour. Sourdough, which takes more time every day but is where the taste comes from. Even the bases that do not make the cut are put to good use, shared as tastings at markets or gifted to friends and family.

Alongside the bases is a single jarred sauce, a San Marzano DOP Sugo made only with D.O.P. San Marzano tomatoes grown beside Mount Vesuvius in Naples, naturally sweet and low in acidity.

The bases are wonderfully versatile. Use one for pizza, of course, but also as a side bread for dips or a cheeseboard, simply warmed in the toaster, or tucked into a school lunch. Aurelio loves pairing them with goodies from other local producers, like Rocking Rayu’s crispy chilli oil or S&S Preserves’ sweet chilli jam.

What he enjoys most about markets is the people. Every week he catches up with a five year old regular who shows him his latest origami creation, and a little red jumping frog now sits beside his business cards. Seeing familiar faces every fortnight is, for Aurelio, the surest sign that Calda Calda is doing something good.

Every first time customer at his stall receives a hot sample with just good olive oil and sea salt, before they have even read the label. Aurelio wants the product to speak for itself, and he backs it with a promise: if you do not love your base, tell him and he will refund you in full.

For Perth Upmarket, Calda Calda has put together an event special: two Original Size bases and a jar of San Marzano DOP Sugo for $31.95, instead of $34.95. It is a very easy way to bring a proper Italian pizza night home.

Looking ahead, Aurelio is working on recipe videos to share what he knows about the ingredients, and an online shop delivering bases across Perth. What he will not do is expand the range. His belief is simple: do one thing and make it the best it can be.

Come and say ciao at the Calda Calda stall at the final Perth Upmarket of 2026, our Christmas market, on Sunday 22 November at Winthrop Hall, UWA, from 10am to 3:30pm. Free entry and free parking. You can follow Aurelio on Instagram at @caldacaldapizzabases.