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A two-story Italian restaurant will be opening soon on St. Armands Circle. Called 15 South by Napulè, the eatery is owned by restaurateur Alessandro Di Ferdinando, who also owns Napulè on Tamiami Trail near Gulf Gate and used to own Made in Italy of Venice. A grand opening at the St. Armands eatery is scheduled for 6-8 p.m. Saturday, April 27, whil...

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Diners in search of more options for Italian food on St. Armands Circle won’t have to wait long. In early 2024, local restaurateur Alessandro Di Ferdinando will revive the “spirit” of 15 South Ristorante on St. Armands Circle under the new name of 15 South by Napulè at 15 S. Boulevard of the Presidents. Di Ferdinando is best known for his restauran...

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When most people doodle during a meeting or sketch out a quick image during a game of Pictionary, they don’t ponder what will become of their finished works. Perhaps they’ll be tossed into the trash, or someone will save them, preserving the drawings for years to come. At The Ringling Museum, 500 Years of Italian Drawings from the Princeton Univers...

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A new exhibit is coming to The Ringling this October: Guercino’s Friar with a Gold Earring: Fra Bonaventura Bisi, Painter and Art Dealer, an international loan exhibition exploring a rare portrait of Fra Bonaventura Bisi by the Italian Baroque painter Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, also known as Guercino. The Ringling acquired the portrait in 2015. T...

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A new Italian restaurant featuring the same owner as another local eatery — as well as a wood-burning oven built atop a Fiat 500 car and an outdoor bar fashioned out of an Italian truck — has opened its doors. Osteria 500 is now open at 1580 Lakefront Drive in Waterside Place, the Lakewood Ranch development in Sarasota County. The new restaurant's...

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This August, Paisano’s Italian Bakery will celebrate its 25th anniversary of serving up Italian comfort food to the Sarasota community. Husband and wife David and Laurie Moretti opened Paisano’s in 1998. David, the son of Italian immigrants, began his career working as a cleaner in a bakery. He gained skills at a variety of different bakeries, with...

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Sarasota’s love affair with Italy goes back to the city’s earliest days. There’s the Ca’ d’Zan, John Ringling’s immense Venetian-style mansion on Sarasota Bay, plus, of course, the man’s immense Renaissance art collection, which includes the famous replica of Michelangelo’s David—so recognizable that the City of Sarasota made it its logo. But that’...

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Fiorella Italian Bistro has opened on Tuttle Road, near Bee Ridge. Owner Francesco Giovannucci, who hails from the Abruzzo region of Italy, has been working on the concept since before the Covid-19 pandemic, but waited to open until things quieted down. “I like the fusion of French and Italian,” says Giovannucci. His passion for both cuisines is ev...

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Christopher Covelli, the executive chef at Sarasota’s Sage and Bijou Garden Café, competed in a Food Network competition last night. In Alex vs. America, celebrity chef Alex Guarnaschelli faces off against three chefs who are hoping to win a cash prize. “There isn’t a chef more competitive than I am,” Guarnaschelli said in the show’s opening. Covel...

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A family Italian restaurant featuring Jersey-style pizza appears to be making it through the pandemic. Solorzano’s Pizzeria, at 13001 Tamiami Trail, near Warm Mineral Springs, offers gourmet pizza and subs with fresh homemade Italian bread, as well as a variety of pasta dishes — including homemade meatballs. Father and son Jimmy and Anthony Solorza...

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