Contrada Rapello: restaurant and gallery in Subiaco

In Subiaco, a medieval town in the Aniene Valley known as the birthplace of Benedictine monasticism, Paolo Angelucci and Clarissa Civilini have launched Contrada Rapello, a combined agricultural restaurant and art gallery. Angelucci, a chef trained at Niko Romito's Accademia and formerly at Reale and Spazio, focuses on contemporary Italian cuisine using ingredients from his own farm. Civilini, a philology and art history graduate who teaches art and fashion, curates the gallery. The exhibition space doubles as the dining room, with large windows overlooking the Sublacense countryside, in a newly built structure designed to harmonize with nature. The venture opened in December 2023, with an inaugural show dedicated to Civilini's grandfather, Giuseppe Civilini, a local painter who died in 1998 and was connected to Benedetto Tozzi and the Scuola Romana circle. Future exhibitions will focus on contemporary art. The project aims to spotlight the border region between Lazio and Abruzzo, off the beaten path.