Rosa Rizzuto died this morning at the age of 99: in 1965, having recently arrived in Cagliari from Tunisia together with her husband Pino, she founded a place in via Cimarosa that quickly became historic. That of Panini Africani. A place, still open under new management, that since the 1960s has attracted an entire generation of people from Cagliari and beyond, ready to enjoy the novelty and to witness another unique feature, namely her husband Pino who played the trumpet between one sandwich and another.
Mrs. Rosa, fondly remembered by the many customers who have populated the place, after the death of her husband Giuseppe “Pino” Pluchino (in 1998) had then sold the business in 2002. Without however completely detaching herself from it: she had passed on to the new owners (with the business continuing today, with the same basis as in 1965) the recipe for the sandwich . And for its special sauce.
In the years when she was behind the counter of the place, which initially started out as a Relais Bar, it was Mrs. Rosa who took care of the sandwiches. Heated to perfection, with pickles, potatoes or tuna among the ingredients. She often spoke to customers about her life as a young woman in Tunisia (she lived in Tunis, born to Sicilian parents like her husband, and was forced to leave North Africa in the Sixties), and she was always very friendly and helpful. With her memory that has remained over the years for anyone who has entered the place on Via Cimarosa and ordered the famous African sandwiches .