Overlooking the Westerly High School football field on Tower Street, Serapo is the latest dining establishment in a hallowed, old-world structure that, for years, was Cappizano's and, more recently, the site of Nicola's.

By some sort of cosmic legislation, the recurring culinary motif in all these spots has been Italian, as though the building itself would dissipate in garlic-and-tomato sauce dust motes should some weisenheimer have the audacity to open a Mexican or Chinese joint.

For whatever reasons Cappizano's and Nicola's vacated the premises, Serapo, which opened last spring, is a more than worthy successor.

In the main dining room, expansive glass on three sides - in that slightly curved fashion of an outfield wall in a ballpark - lets in plenty of ambient light and a nice view of traffic and the neighborhood. A new and appropriately thematic mural is being painted on the remaining wall, and tables are comfortable and functional. The adjacent lounge, with three televisions for sports viewing,
offers plenty of seats at the bar and several four- and two-top tables from which patrons can dine from the regular menu or, later in the evening, from limited pub options. Throughout, a terra cotta and butter-gold color scheme is instantly welcoming.

During two recent visits, the food and service were such that the experience was pleasantly familial.

Pasta dishes and seafood, chicken and veal main courses were traditional but simply and lovingly hand-crafted. All pastas are made on site, and the chicken and veal comes in fresh daily. In support, there is a generous array of appetizers, soups, salads, burgers and sandwiches, and of course pizza.

Polenta sticks ($6.95) were a spectacular way to open. Precise timbers of delicate and flavorfully textured ground yellow corn, crisped into perfect right angled exteriors, were delivered in a criss-cross, jackstraw presentation with a vessel of gorgonzola fondue for dipping purposes. I could see lapping at a bottomless tureen of the fondue in the fashion of a carefree, Pavlovian hound.

Both Pasta e Fagioli and Minestrone are always on the menu ($2.95 cup, $3.95 bowl), and the former is a melange of toothsome cannelloni and garbonza beans, twirls of pasta, and a broth of just-torn-from-the-garden tomatoes. The soup was slightly salty but not to distraction.

There are six designer entrée salads, and My Bride tried to divorce me so she could marry the Artichoke & Chestnut offering ($8.50). An Andes range of romaine lettuce was generously strewn with leeks, garlic, basil pine nuts, sliced chestnuts and artichoke hearts - the intriguing combo of flavors in turn nuanced by grated Romano cheese and a delicate white wine vinaigrette dressing.

Few dishes so heroically capture the spirit of Italian food like Fettucine Alfredo ($14.50) - I rarely order it because it's so heavy. In fact, our server told us that it would probably end up making three separate meals, even for an e'er-larger gentlemen such as myself. Out came a giant serving bowl heaped with the thick noodles scuba diving through a lazy lagoon of dense, aromatic sauce rich in butter, olive oil, cream, and parmesan. Huge hunks of tender and moist chicken breast, tattooed by grill marks, were plentiful. All together, a vast, dense and irresistible effort. It should have lasted three meals, but I inhaled it in two.

Also sampled: a veal parm carbonara sandwich ($8.95). A massive plank of thick ground veal was encased and fried in a light but supportive batter. On top: roasted red peppers and onions, along with melted provolone and a tang-happy red sauce, all served on a fresh designer bread. The ingredients were of highest quality, yet the overall impression was surprisingly bland.

Otherwise, Serapo fits neatly in the time-honored tradition of the location and Westerly's Italian community - all the while establishing its own fine imprint.