"Is Italian pizza more like the brick oven/stone hearth pizzas you can find here rather than the mass-market chains like Domino's and Pizza Hut?"

Most often it was a very thin crust (though sometimes there would be the square 'Sicilian style' ones precooked in some take away stands). I think the style may depend on where you are in the country, like all of their food. We were in the northern part of the country, and we gathered that its much different in the south.