As I was preparing a smoked turkey and provolone panino for lunch a few days ago, I began thinking about the interesting story of this simple Italian meal, which I remember being served as a snack to us hungry children (fig. 1) back in the old country. It would be a merenda, essentially a mid-afternoon snack while waiting for the evening dinner, but it became widespread in the 1960s as a quick meal on-the-go particularly if travelling or when having a picnic in the countryside. 

Our panini were always made with fresh, crunchy bread, and stuffed with various types of prosciutto, salame, formaggio or mozzarella, or with a plain eggs frittata, or a cotoletta (Milanese style!). 

Bread can vary from region to region in Italy, however a panino is never made with sliced bread. Bread rolls are ubiquitous throughout Italy and come in a great variety of shapes and sizes. In Rome, the rosetta (fig. 2) is the perfect panino roll. A rosetta is round and crunchy with its top resembling a rose, perfect for hot porchetta (fig. 3), or a grilled salsiccia (figs. 4,5), or for prosciutto e mozzarella (fig. 6).

Today the invasion of American fast-food outlets has taken hold even in Italy (fig. 7), the land of the best food in the world, and consequently the eating habits particularly among the younger generations are quickly changing. However, a visit to a paninoteca (a new Italian word to describe a panino shop) will provide an extensive list of mouthwatering choices (fig. 8).

An appealing alternative would also be to stop by a local salumeria or an open mercato (figs. 9,10,11), where plenty of choices will be on hand to properly stuff your next panino!

For the tourist on-the-go, this is often an easy and inexpensive way to take a pleasant break from a busy schedule (figs. 12,13). Perhaps find a good glass of local vino sfuso (fig. 14) to complete a great lunch break. Buon appetito!

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