Arturo Of Arturo’s

New York Pizza giant and fanciful painter Arturo Giunta passed away Wednesday night:

Arturo Giunta, whose Greenwich Village coal oven has been cooking up pizzas at Arturo’s for nearly five decades, has died. He was 79.

The Manhattan native died Wednesday night at Beth Israel Hospital, a month after breaking his arm and developing an infection that led to kidney failure, said his daughter-in-law, Carol Giunta. A World War II Army sergeant wounded twice battling the Nazis, Giunta founded Arturo’s pizzeria in 1957.

The brick-walled Village landmark at West Houston and Thompson Sts. has been a mainstay for pie lovers, including celebrities ranging from jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie to Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts.

“You walk in, you order and you eat,” was how Giunta described his success in a recent interview. His cheesy creations also had a lot to do with his 900-degree, coal-burning oven, which ensured a crackly crust.