(; : ) is an
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
sandwich
A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...
consisting of two slices of soft
white bread
White bread typically refers to breads made from wheat flour from which the bran and the germ layers have been removed from the whole wheatberry as part of the flour grinding or milling process, producing a light-colored flour.
Nutrition
Wh ...
, with the crusts removed, usually cut in a triangle. Popular fillings include
prosciutto
Prosciutto ( ; ), also known as ''prosciutto crudo'', is an uncooked, unsmoked, and dry-cured ham. It is usually served thinly sliced.
Several regions in Italy have their own variations of ''prosciutto crudo'', each with degrees of protected ...
,
tuna
A tuna (: tunas or tuna) is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bul ...
, and
olive
The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...
s, but many other fillings can be used.
Etymology
The term was coined by
Gabriele D'Annunzio to
replace the English word ''
sandwich
A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...
''. It is the diminutive of the word , meaning 'in-between' (formed with the addition of the
suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns and adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can ca ...
).
History
The origin of the can be found in the Caffè Mulassano in
Piazza Castello
Piazza Castello is a prominent city square in Turin, Italy. It houses several city landmarks, museums, theaters and cafes.
Description
The square is rectangular in shape and houses at its center the architectural complex of Palazzo Madama, wh ...
, Turin, where it was devised in 1925 as an alternative to English
tea sandwich
A tea sandwich (also referred to as finger sandwich) is a small prepared sandwich typically sliced into pieces that can be picked up with one hand. It was originally developed in the 19th century as an offering at afternoon teatime meant to st ...
.
See also
*
List of sandwiches
Sandwiches are a common type of lunch food often eaten as part of a packed lunch. There are many types of sandwiches, made from a diverse variety of ingredients. The sandwich is the namesake of John Montagu, Earl of Sandwich, a British statesman ...
*
Panini
*
References
{{Sandwiches
Italian sandwiches