Opened in April 2015, the new Filippo La Mantia space in Piazza Risorgimento Milan is far more than just a restaurant or a homage to Sicily. It’s a showcase for the Palermitan cook’s many passions: food (of course), but also wine, music, motorcycles and photography. The elegant new interior was created by the architect and friend Piero Lissoni, while the whole project was made possible by another friend, Filippo’s business partner, who manages the company. Friendship lies, in fact, at the very heart of the project, which Filippo sees it as an informal gathering spot, open from 7.30-2am. Food is, naturally, the founding principle, and can be ordered all day -- but Filippo believes a venue is ‘made of the people who frequent it’. The ambience is therefore welcoming, comfortable, flexible, without partitions – and aesthetically pleasing, to boot. An enormous lounge which unwraps over 1,800 square metres spread over two floors, it’s a place where guests can find the spaces and situations to suit them -- whether they’re here to drink, eat, chat, work (free Wi-Fi), enjoy the company of friends – or simply relax.
The space
From the attractive piazza Risorgimento, guests enter into the luminous Day Bar. Walls covered in hand-made white ceramic tiles, large glass window framing the piazza, and a counter clad in volcanic stone – carved with white decorations recalling embroideries – define the space. Open from 7.30am, the cafeteria serves cakes, sfogliatelle (puff pastries with ricotta), croissant and brioche – all rigorously made in-house. Sicilian savoury snacks are heaped beside them – from panelle (chickpea flour fritters) and potato croquettes to arancine (mozzarella-filled rice balls). All are available until aperitif time when the Night Bar opens up. Located in the venue’s interior, it’s deliberately intimate, with playful low-lights and colourful bottles displayed behind the bar. The scents of herbs, spices, almonds, citrus fruits and prickly pears fill the air, as the barman mixes cocktails with a hint of Sicily. The reception area is dominated by Lissoni’s linear Ferro table, and by two video-walls enclosed in Murano glass frames -- an adaptation of the spectacular ‘Strum und Drang’ mirror, which the Milan-based architect was also responsible for. The frames’ classic elements act as a counterpoint to the dominant notes of modernity and technology. From the reception area, the space unfolds in a flurry of warm and sophisticated colours – from dark wood floors to taupe walls, punctuated by accents of more definite and decided shades. Like the bistro tabletops, variation occurs in colours – but also in materials and shapes, from rounded to rectangular forms. The reception area leads on to a large living room, with an entire wall covered by bookcases displaying Richard Ginori porcelain and Virginia Casa ceramics. These are interspersed with anthropomorphic vases from Caltagirone: monochrome creations by Stefania Boemi – modern reinterpretations of traditions from Sicily. Much of the furniture comes from collections designed by Piero Lissoni for Cassina, Living Divani and Porro – but iconic design pieces also feature: from Cicognino coffee tables by Franco Albini and Utrecht armchairs by Gerrit Rietveld to items by upcoming designers, such as Starsky tables by David Lopez Quincoces. Sofas and armchairs create intimate areas; tables with different forms and dimensions are dotted throughout the space. At the far end of the venue, cane chairs alternate with linen-covered seats around a vast circular table, dominated by an imposing lamp – a one-of-a-kind artisan piece made by Giovanna Carboni from recycled elements. Light filters though raw linen curtains at the large windows casting tenuous shadows, whilst antique rugs by Altai further soften the atmosphere. Musical instruments are placed here and there – less as decorations than as an invitation to make music. Their accessibility exemplifies the space’s true nature: anyone who enters is encouraged to see it as an extension of their own home, the difference lying in the infinity of possibilities for encounters and shared experience...
Returning towards the entrance, a modern glass staircase brings guests to the upper floor, where a patchwork of antique kilim rugs and stone walls render the area inviting and warm. At the stairs’ base is a motorcycle another one-off piece assembled from original pieces by Frank Augello’s Sumisura, a nod to the passion which Filippo shares with many friends. The first floor reveals another space conceived as a series of diverse but fluid areas, without architectural barriers. Wall panels pay homage to traditional Sicilian wattle, which shades without obscuring the light. In between are giant black and white photographs: handsome Sicilian portraits by Gianmarco Chieregato; while in the cocktail bar, shots by Pucci Scafidi highlight Sicilian details. A vast modular composition of Lissoni’s Extrasoft sofa greets guests as they enter, whilst a wood-covered island kitchen by Boffi – with Fulgor induction hob plates, for cookery displays – is situated on the left. Behind it, a glass- fronted wine cabinet showcases some of the most prestigious labels and doubles as a screen for the bathroom entrance. Here, cookery displays are not just the preserve of the owner-chef: guests, too, can book the hob to cook with friends; they’ll find the necessary ingredients at-the-ready on arrival at the restaurant. Enticing areas composed of sofas and armchairs fill the remainder of the lounge, up to the restaurant entrance. Here, 70 seats are distributed around tables of various shapes and sizes. Chairs in cane or with linen covers alternate with classic bistro seats and Neve armchairs by Lissoni for Porro. As on the ground floor, a system of wall cabinets displays porcelain, ceramics and glassware, framing the pasticceria, a glass cube where baked goods are made as you watch...
The space concludes with two large round tables illuminated by a pair of Murano glass chandeliers, which can become a private area thanks to a system of sliding doors that guarantees discretion to guests on request.
