What folded Italian dish is essentially a sealed pizza turnover?

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The folded Italian dish that is essentially a sealed pizza turnover is a calzone.

A calzone is made from leavened pizza dough folded over a filling and sealed around the edge before baking. The result is a half-moon or similar enclosed pocket in which ingredients that might otherwise sit on top of a pizza—such as cheese, cured meats and vegetables—cook inside the dough.

The dish is especially associated with Naples and southern Italy. Traditional fillings vary, but Neapolitan versions often include ricotta, mozzarella or other local cheeses, salami and pepper. The name is related to an Italian word for a stocking or trouser leg, referring to the filled, folded shape.

Calzone is often confused with stromboli. A calzone is generally folded and sealed like a turnover, whereas stromboli is typically rolled into a cylindrical spiral and is an Italian-American creation. Piadina is an unleavened flatbread, and focaccia is an open, dimpled bread rather than an enclosed filled dish.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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