By Chiara Pietrella
To call it a trattoria is an understatement: Tripolitania in Sarteano has always been a point of reference, a must, a milestone. Opened in 1911, it has welcomed villagers and patrons for over a century and for many it continues to be “home”.
I hope that you readers will forgive me if I write this story in a personal way, as a Sarteano fond of her land, it also concerns me a little. Tripolitania is one of those places that remain in the heart, not only in mine, perhaps because it is the oldest trattoria in the country, perhaps because the flavors of certain dishes have marked my life forever, or more probably because it is such an inexhaustible concentration of stories that just passing in front of it inevitably assails me curiosity, nostalgia and tenderness. I start by remembering Corso Garibaldi as it was when I was a child, in the 80s and 90s. In those days the trattoria was run by Bruno and “by” Franca, who when you passed in front of there looked at you with a severe, almost gruff air, but hiding the delicate and sly smile typical of grandparents who control a grandchild (it doesn’t matter that at the registry office you weren’t really one, in those days it worked like that). The smell of good food could be smelled from outside and when you entered you already knew exactly what to take. Caterina, their granddaughter, was a cheerful and lively child at the time, but even growing up she did not lose that spontaneity and that bright light in her eyes. Today she is the one who cooks and manages the trattoria and I meet her almost every day, but finally I have the excuse to ask her those questions that normally do not occur to me and that are right there, in that corner of my mind that the haste of everyday life forces me to ignore. The first concerns this singular name.
“The trattoria is called Tripolitania because it was opened by a gentleman who had made war in Tripoli” she explains to me with his typical candid and enthusiastic smile. Then she continues: “I know for sure that it was 1911, but I never knew the name of the man. In those days it was a tavern, but also a place where, coming from the countryside, you could stop and eat your meal brought from home, perhaps just asking for a glass of wine”.
“My family – she continues – took over the management of this place on April 14, 1972, then it was my great-grandmother Giovanna who acted as ‘hostess’, then it passed to grandmother Franca and finally to me. My mother Onelia, for various reasons related to family and health, never took the baton.”
We remember together the long management of grandmother Franca, who had made her restaurant a meeting place, rather than a trattoria: “This place belonged to the village. There were people who came for lunch or dinner every day, because maybe they were left alone, and they shared the table like a family. They even had a cloth napkin that was changed a couple of times a week and placed in the drawer in a personalized wooden ring. The trattoria, then, not only served dinner and lunch, but was open all day for a snack, a glass of wine or a game of cards. In particular, on Fridays, on market day, people came down from the countryside and came to us for breakfast, which was not with a croissant or a coffee like today, but with a tripe sandwich or with cod, naturally flanked by the ‘quartino’ of wine”.
Caterina continues her story by confiding in me how she lived this historic place, which was even more so home for her: “Corso Garibaldi was populated, there were many children, ice cream, the toy store, a paradise for me who lived in the countryside. I spent my childhood among these tables, playing at being a bartender. I did my first full season when I was fourteen, and now here I am. I have made many sacrifices, but I am very happy, even if my grandmother has left a strong imprint on the country and I don’t say only on a culinary level”.
So I ask her what has changed today compared to then and I discover that although society is totally different, there are still people who have their permanent place between the tables and in the hearts of the managers. “Mr. G. – she explains to me – still has lunch with us every day and often proudly repeats the date of the first time, October 15, 1978, when my great-grandmother was still there”. And he is not the only one.
The restaurant was purchased by Mrs. Franca in 2008 and Caterina took over from her grandmother between 2009 and 2011, initially together with her brother Filippo. The trattoria has been renovated slowly, in fact not changing anything, but only giving other colours to the place and new life to the old furniture and therefore transforming it into a completely characteristic and special place, where you can still breathe history, but you can live it in a modern key. Even the dishes that represented the milestone of the ancient cuisine have all remained, from ‘pici all’aglione and tomato sauce’ (in Sarteano the sauce is called “sugo”, ed.) to roast beef, from meatloaf to tripe, from cod to tiramisu. Alongside these, of course, Caterina has also introduced her own dishes, giving vent to her creativity and giving a rightly more modern imprint to the restaurant.
I conclude this nice chat by asking if there is a specific memory you want to share, but she replies that there are really too many to choose one in particular. “I’ll think about it”, she replies. But I will do it too. I feel someway part of this story. Let’s wait for the next chapter.
Info: Trattoria Tripolitania, Corso Giuseppe Garibaldi, 27 – 53047 Sarteano SI
Tel. 0578 265311 / Orario: 12:30–14:30 / 19:30–21:30. Chiusura: mercoledì
Facebook: La Tripolitania / Instagram: @TrattoriaTripolitania