A former flight attendant turned pizza‑maker and entrepreneur, Stefano Callegari created cult venues such as Sforno, Tonda, Sbanco and, above all, the Trapizzino (2008), a hand‑held pizza pocket that conquered Rome, Italy and New York, earning Gambero Rosso’s Tre Spicchi rating and its 2024 “I Maestri dell’Impasto” career award.
Born in Rome on December 25, 1968, Callegari grew up between Garbatella district and local bakeries, but his first career took flight elsewhere: he spent nearly fifteen years as a steward for Alitalia, learning logistics, service and large‑scale production. At forty he decided to “come back down to earth” and devote himself to flour.
In 2005 he opened Sforno in Cinecittà (Rome), introducing high‑hydration doughs and the now‑famous Cacio e Pepe pizza, baked with ice cubes that melt pecorino and pepper into a cream, followed in 2008 by Tonda in Montesacro. These spots pushed Roman pizza into guidebooks once dominated by formal restaurants.
Also in 2008 came the game‑changer: the Trapizzino, a triangle of pizza bianca filled with classic Roman stews—from coda alla vaccinara to tongue with salsa verde—designed to eat “with one hand” without sacrificing the depth of slow‑cooked sauces. The format grew from 00100 to multiple outlets across Italy and, from 2017, New York, becoming the city’s emblem of Roman street food abroad.
In 2016 he opened Sbanco in San Giovanni (Rome), developing long fermentations, creative fried items and a craft‑beer list; the next year Gambero Rosso awarded the pizzeria Tre Spicchi, reconfirmed in subsequent editions. In 2024 the same guide honored him with the career award “I Maestri dell’Impasto”, recognizing his cultural and economic impact on the sector.
Callegari’s philosophy rests on three pillars: respect for Roman identity, research into light doughs and accessible gastronomic storytelling. He avoids overblown toppings, favoring traditional sauces that soak into the crumb; he studies temperature curves to maximize crunch and digestibility and sees pizza as “a vehicle for home cooking to speak a metropolitan language.”
Beyond his own venues he consults, teaches flour workshops and joins roundtables on the future of baking; he donates surplus food to community kitchens in the Alessandrino district. In his spare time he collects model trains, a passion kindled during layover nights as a flight attendant—“they teach the patience an aging dough requires
Callegari has transformed Via Cipro in Rome into his gastronomic headquarters: at no. 106 he opened Romanè in 2021, a home cooking osteria awarded “Novità dell'Anno 2022” by Gambero Rosso Roma & Lazio and Bib Gourmand Michelin 2023; opposite, at no. 61, Armare in 2023 reinterprets the maritime tradition with dishes such as fried mussels and cuttlefish and peas; finally, from the end of May 2025, no. 71 is home to Arbanco, a neighborhood deli.
