When I was in Italy, I noticed that all the natives cut it with a knife and used a fork. Americans typically eat with their hands. Is that gauche to do there?

Apologies for my incorrect spelling - meant to say pizza etiquette

Might have something to do that Italy...pizzas are served whole....uncut

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do." I'd use a knife and fork, like the Italians do, if I was sitting down in a restaurant, and I'd eat it with my hands, like the Italians do, if it was a slice of pizza from a take-out place.

But even though they are uncut, they still don't eat with their hands even when cut into smaller pieces - seems very unnatural for those of the Italian persuasion.

Don't think it makes a difference. Whatever it takes to get the job done.

If it is takeout, they fold it over and hold it with their hands. At a restaurant they use knife and fork, in my experience

and they drink beer with the pizza.

It is probably gauche to eat with your hands in a restaurant, remember la bella figura.

When in Switzerland and Italy (in Apr) I ate my pizza w/knife and fork until I got to the last bit of sauce around the crust. That part I just picked up. There were no food police to haul me away, so I guess it was OK. LOL And we dined at least twice in a very nice restaurant, and used fingers.

Recently, at a sit down place in Rome:

People were cutting and eating with knife and fork until the crust. At that point it was more like a breadstick/small piece of bread, and they picked it up and ate it like one.

So that's what I did, too. Also, it happens to be the way I eat pizza in a restaurant here (in SF).

As a rule Americans eat many more things with their hands than do europeans - I guess we're all just naturally slobs. Except for sandwiches (and I've seen a lot of continental europeans eat those with knife and fork too), ice cream cones or street snakcs it's rare for anything to be eaten with the hands. (In Vienna I've even seen the hot dog stands hand out little plates to hold the wurst without getting it on your hands.)

(A couple of years ago we entertained someone from our German office in a Chinese restaurant - something he wanted to try. Since there were a bunch of us we had several shared plates of appetizers. He was SO uncomfotable picking up anything - couldn;t believe we all ate that way. He told me later he had been raised to think it very rude to eat anything at a table with your hands rather than knife/fork.)

But on the other hand when I eat at a Tibetan restaurant they expect you to eat with your hands. So don't worry about being a slob it is all subjective I say as I stuff Cracker Jacks into my mouth.

Some of the above is contradictory to what I've seen in Italy. They eat Pannini sandwiches like we do, in hand!
In Riva del Garda, Italy I glanced at an Italian eating pizza (it came in a whole round piece...) the man used his knife and fork some, and then picked up the pieces with his hands.
ALSO; A cooking show on the food channel,"30 Minutes Meals"--Rachael Ray says of her Italian heritage , " in Italy we count bread as a utinsel like a fork and use it for scooping up food sometimes!"
Yes, I've seen pizza in Italy eaten with the hands after it is cut into some pieces. (sometimes the crust, if real brown, is tough to cut so it is easier to pick it up.) I had the same question as you did, decapo, so made a point of looking at some Italians indescretely..in order to find out.
If you do want to pick up pizza after you cut it...I truly don't think the Italians would mind... or even CARE!!!

In the olden days (i.e., my time) we were taught that etiquette requires knife and fork for any hot food, including things like hamburgers. Personally, I never followed that rule and grew up "uncouth" as my mother would call me.

In Italy, I ate with my hands or knife/fork depending on the type of pizza. A crispy pizza is hard for me to eat with a fork, while a soft pizza (like with an egg cracked on it) is hard for me to eat with my hands.

Did I offend any locals? Probably.

Hi dac,

Italians use a knife and fork to cut and eat their pizza, except when they fold it up and eat it with their hands.