The all-Italian tramezzino sandwich just turned 90. And it鈥檚 still looking, or rather, tasting, great.
Made with two pieces of white bread cut in the shape of a triangle with the crusts cut off, tramezzino is filled with all kinds of delicious treats, from the classic 鈥減rosciutto e formaggio鈥 (ham and cheese) to the more fanciful, such as lobster tail, Barolo roast, vitel tonn茅, scampi cocktail, peppers with anchovies, and more.
The origins of tramezzino can be traced back to January 1926 at the Caff猫 Mulassano in Turin. The then-owners Angela and Onorino Nebiolo came up with the idea of using cold toast bread to be stuffed with sauces, meat, cold cuts and fish 鈥 a neutral base to enhance the filling. The perfect, quick-yet-tasty meal for workers on their lunch break.
The word 鈥渢ramezzino,鈥 which at first was called 鈥減aninetto,鈥 is due to Italian writer and poet Gabriele D鈥橝nnunzio; one day, he was sitting inside the Caff茅 Mulassano enjoying an aperitivo accompanied by these sandwiches. He liked them so much he ordered another round, asking for more 鈥渢ramezzini鈥. He said in fact that, observing their shape, they reminded him of the 鈥渢ramezze鈥 (partition walls) of his home in the countryside. Thus, the tramezzino was born.
In recent years, tramezzino has become increasingly popular as a lunchtime meal during the work week as Italians no longer have time for the traditional long lunch. According to a survey by Fipe Confcommercio, tramezzino is even more popular than pasta and pizza.
