CAMPIELLO RISTORANTE BAR on Naples' Third Street has its cuisine roots in Minneapolis, Minn., a town where Richard D'Amico has operated his D'Amico Cucina and the casual D'Amico & Sons catering-takeout-inside dining since the 1980s. The restaurants were such a success in that northern city that the D'Amico family decided to try the concept in Naples and Fort Myers, where the climate and the architectural style conjure up visions of Italy and the name of the town and some gated communities reinforce the illusion. The cuisine is simple, rustic Italian Tuscan food served with great bread and good supporting wines in a comfortable atmosphere.

The timing was right in 1998 when D'Amico & Sons opened in a Naples and a Fort Myers mall and Campiello premiered in downtown Naples. Americans were traveling in droves to Italy, drinking Italian wines at home, and buying cookbooks by Marcella Hazan and Giuliano Bugialli. Hearty, flavorful Italian hill country food reigned supreme in the U.S. It still does, and the D'Amico establishments are doing just fine stretching a food trend into a culinary tradition in Southwest Florida.