On Monday 26 April, the first restaurant dedicated to Sophia Loren opened its doors in Florence. His name? Sophia Loren - Original Italian Food. A real temple of Italianness, a stone's throw from the Duomo and Piazza della Repubblica. The project, which comes from an idea of Dream Food by Luciano Cimmino, sees the participation of the diva herself. And it has an ambitious mission: to bring Italian cuisine, and the image of Loren, to different corners of the world.
The story of the first restaurant dedicated to Sophia Loren
"Everything you see I owe to spaghetti”Is a phrase that has gone down in history. And, to pronounce it, it was precisely the Italian diva par excellence. Hence, a restaurant dedicated to Sophia Loren is not surprising. After all, few other Italians in the world enjoy his fame. Luciano Cimmino, an entrepreneur made in Naples (the Pianoforte Holding which he chairs controls brands such as Yamamay and Carpisa), turned the dream into reality. "This project stems from the desire to undertake a new entrepreneurial challenge that it has the ambition to offer a unique, all-Italian experience in the catering sector”He said, recounting how it all started in 2014. And how the pandemic then posed some obstacles. Why Sophia Loren, as inspirational muse? For his Mediterraneity. For that charisma that goes beyond all geographical and generational boundaries. "Because it is perfect to give the strongly Italian connotation that we had imagined".
The restaurant dedicated to Sophia Loren that opened its doors in Florence will not be the only one. The format is ambitious, and plans to be exported in Italy and abroad. Naples, Milan, Miami, New York, Dubai and Shanghai are in the sights of Dream Food for places devoted to Italianness, with an eye to Napoli. In the kitchen, in the Tuscan capital, there is indeed Gennaro Esposito, owner and Chef of the two Michelin stars of Vico Equense Torre del Serracino. The pizzas are those of The Masanielli di Caserta, the desserts bear the signature of Carmen Di Donna.
How is Sophia Loren - Original Italian Food
Il Sophia Loren - Original Italian Food born where once there was a bank. And it is an all-round place, open from morning to evening and with services of cafeteria, restaurant, pizzeria and cocktail bar. There are 200 seats, while 60 are the people who can accommodate the outdoor area (currently the only open space, due to the anti-Covid provisions that require outdoor lunches and dinners). With a promise: prices will never be exaggerated. "I am 100% Neapolitan in everything I do, when I sing a song, when I dance, I think, I act, when I choose what to eat and I've always had a wonderful relationship with food because it makes me happy" said the actress, whose photos in the guise of a pizza chef are hanging in the room.
To design the restaurant dedicated to Sophia Loren, the architect Ivo Redaelli of the Redaelli Associati studio. His idea of the velvet seats in Mediterranean colors and walls with pure gold inserts. And then the iridescent boiserie, the lava stone tables, the art of Luigi Masecchia which - with metal caps - reproduced the face of the actress. For a place that talks about Loren, Naples and Italy.
