Artist Luca Cutrufelli Opens Garden Café on Lipari

Artist Luca Cutrufelli (Messina, 1982) has opened Il Giardino di Lipari, a garden café in the historic center of Lipari, Aeolian Islands. The venue combines food, drink, and music with a design that mixes design pieces and reused materials, such as tables made from cable spools and cushions from sailboat fabric. The menu is Mediterranean with international influences, including pokè made with local ingredients. The bar uses local citrus and hierba buena planted by Cutrufelli. The project was launched during the pandemic, which reduced international tourism, leading to more Italian visitors. Cutrufelli sees the café as a separate venture from his art career, providing economic stability. He previously participated in Manifesta12 in Palermo and later moved to Paris, where curator Ingrid Pux (now deceased) encouraged his artistic path. The café employs chef Raimondo di Cataldo (ex-Imàgo Roma), bartenders Nicolò Verde and Alessio Affè, lounge manager Mario di Pietro, and DJ Crystal Bones.