Officine La Rossa: The Perfect Synthesis Between Culinary Excellence & Architectural Beauty

Written by Sergio Ragone

After more than a year of closures caused by the fight against Covid, Italian catering restarts from Made in Italy and from the excellence of the territory. An example of how this strategy is successful is offered to us by the newly created platform "Officine La Rossa," a hub of Lucanian food and wine excellences, which recently opened in Rotonda, a village of extraordinary beauty and home of the excellent red aubergine DOP.

The creator of the project, which makes use of the collaboration with the Lucanian Coldiretti, is Franco Bruno who presented the basic idea of the Officine as follows: "Our challenge is to welcome the many tourists who come to Rotonda every year in the Pollino Park," explained Bruno. He went on to say, "In this structure, they can taste the best of agri-food products made in Basilicata; an initiative that aims to promote the best synergies between sustainable tourism and food combined with the typical hospitality of the Lucanian communities."

The platform focuses entirely on the food and wine of the area, hinging on the recognized quality of the products and the excellences that are emerging. All the proposed products are related to “I am Lucanian, an agri-food selection promoted by Coldiretti of Basilicata. This union also includes the choice of the strategic partner that "Officine La Rossa" made for the care of the design and set-up of the restaurant, Fimel. This new extraordinary story looks to the future with a deep respect for the past and with its roots firmly planted in the land and in the Lucanian traditions.

The architect, Mariangela Meliante, manager and creative director of the historic ho.re.ca company, tells the story of the work done by Fimel: "The process that led us to the result has been articulated and involved structural adaptation work to join two adjacent rooms and bring them back to their original shape. We have thus restored the old size to ensure an adequate surface to host and optimally promote the top of the agri-food production made in Basilicata, in synergy with Io sono Lucano promoted by Coldiretti Lucana.

The room is accessed by two glass doors. A selection of wooden furnishings and iron structures adorn the space, harmoniously distributing a warm Lucanian atmosphere. An imperious glass-cut counter catches the eye from the entrance. The counter becomes a symbol par excellence of the opulence of Lucanian agro-food products, given the powerful offer of podolic, goat, pecorino and salami from black pigs and the many products of excellence. Lush aromatic plants of thyme, mallow, rosemary, oregano and basil as well as ferns and ivy decorate the convivial environment with naturalness and authenticity. The cascading lights in wine red rope interrupt the play of the contrasting beams with a classic-style checkered floor, creating a deliberate game of references to the workshop intended as a place for master craftsmen who with skilled hands are able to transform the raw material into a work of art, in this case culinary in an osmotic relationship with the patrons, without filters to testify the passion and authenticity of Basilicata."

In conclusion, “Officine La Rossa” has all the right ingredients to conquer the palates of travelers and fascinate their eyes with the beauty of the details. The result is a mix of all-Italian excellence and an extraordinary future destination.

Comments

Ornella Muti: Five decades of Acting and Still Going Strong

Ornella Muti was born Francesca Romana Rivelli in Rome in 1955 to a Neapolitan father and an Estonian mother. She began her career as a model during her teenage years and made her film debut in 1970 with “La Moglie più bella” (The Most Beautiful Wife). Her follow-up role was in the 1971 film, “Sole nella pelle” (Sun on the Skin), in which she played the daughter of wealthy parents who runs off with a hippie they don’t approve of. The film offers a telling journey through Italian society in the seventies, with its political climate, breathtaking seaside, and the styles and cars of that time. Much of the film is set amid the sunny Italian seaside and captures the innocence and beauty of first love. Muti made her American film debut in 1980 with "Flash Gordon." She played the role of Princess Aura. She’s appeared in two other American films, including “Oscar,” directed by John Landis and starring Don Ameche, Chazz Palminteri, and Sylvester Stallone. In 1992, she w...

The Anthology Film Archives Presents: The Italian Connection: Poliziotteschi and Other Italo-Crime Films of the 1960s and '70's

June 19 – June 29 Influenced both by 1960s political cinema and Italian crime novels, as well as by French noir and American cop movies like "Dirty Harry" and "The French Connection," many Italian filmmakers in the late-60s and early-70s gradually moved away from the spaghetti western genre, trading lone cowboys for ‘bad’ cops and the rough frontier of the American west for the mean streets of modern Italy. Just as they had with their westerns, they reinvented the borrowed genre with their inimitable eye for style and filled their stories with the kidnappings, heists, vigilante justice, and brutal violence that suffused this turbulent moment in post-boom 1970s Italy. The undercurrent of fatalism and cynicism in these uncompromising movies is eerily reminiscent of the state of discontent in Italy today. ‘The Italian Connection’ showcases the diversity and innovation found in the genre, from the gangster noir of Fernando Di Leo’s "Caliber 9" ...

Model/Actress Anna Falchi

Anna Falchi was born Anna Kristiina Palomaki, on April 22, 1972, in Tampere, Finland. Her mother, Kaarina Palomaki Sisko, is Finnish, while her father, Benito "Tito" Falchi, is from Romagna, Italy. Growing up in Italy, Anna was a tomboy, and had a fervent imagination. She is known mostly for her prolific career in modelling. However, she tried her hand at acting and landed a role in one of my favorite Italian comedies, Nessun messaggio in segreteria . I consider it my one of my favorites because it brought together so many amazing, talented filmmakers during a time when they were all just starting out. Those filmmakers, Pierfrancesco Favino, Valerio Mastandrea, Luca Miniero and Paolo Genovese are now huge names in contemporary Italian cinema, so it's great to look back and see their work in a low-profile film completely different from the bigger-budget stardom they now know. Watch the trailer . Anna Falchi started her career as a...

Ettore Scola explores enduring friendships and lost ideals in 'C’eravamo tanto amati'

A scene from "C'eravamo tanti amati" Mixing both tragedy and humor, Ettore Scola ’s 1974 film “C’eravamo tanto amati” (“We All Loved Each Other So Much”) follows 30 years in the lives of three men and the woman they each adore. By examining how his generation changed after the war, Scola makes a film that reflects its era. Scola explores the moral, political and emotional evolution of Italy’s postwar generation and, in doing so, creates a film that is a chronicle of its time and a love letter to cinema. The story begins in the aftermath of World War II. Three friends — Antonio ( Nino Manfredi ), Gianni (Vittorio Gassman) and Nicola (Stefano Satta Flores) — emerge from the Italian Resistance with a shared dream of justice, equality and social renewal. They are united by their hope that the sacrifices of war will lead to a better world. But the decades that follow prove to be challenging as Italy undergoes massive social changes, from the postwar economic boom to the politi...

Federico Fellini: A Look into the Life and Career of an Icon

A Fellini family portrait “The term became a common word to describe something on the surface you can say is bizarre or strange, but actually is really like a painter working on a film,” said Martin Scorsese when asked to define “Felliniesque,” an adjective inspired by one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. The oldest of three children, Federico Fellini was born in the seaside town of Rimini in 1920. His father was a traveling salesman, so his mother was left to do the bulk of raising the children. One can argue that Fellini was born for his destiny. “You could tell that even as a child, he was different and unique. He was very intelligent, well above average. He was always the one to organize things, direct the others, make up games. He could control the other kids with just a look, said Fellini’s sister, Maddalena, in an interview with journalist Gideon Bachmann. Not only was Fellini directing the children, but he was also putting on shows and charging ...

Italian Cinema Today

Search This Blog