Commissioned by Isola Catania for a company retreat, this experience focuses on the beauty of the Sicilian cultural heritage. Sicily, and the city of Catania in particular, have always been a land of conquest of various populations from all over the world. That contributed to create in the centuries, a multiethnic and contaminated culture, which represents one of our best features.

The experience was hosted in the courtyard of Biscari’s Museum, an handsome hidden garden in the city center, a “wunderkammer”, a chamber of wonders, one could say. It is part of the Biscari’s Palace, the most important private palace of Catania, abode of the Paternò Castello family, Princes of Biscari, which was build in the style of Sicilian baroque by the will of Prince Ignazio Paternò Castello after the earthquake of 1693. Nowadays, it is still in part owned by the descendants of the noble family.

Around 1600’s and 1700’s the Palace was one of the favourite locations hosting noble banquets, maximum expression of luxury and ostentation of wealth. Involving different artistic areas, from the theatre to the music, the architecture and more, those sumptuous feasts, were convivial celebrations with the purpose to represent the social status of the hosting family.

The project was designed as a banquet inspired by Biscari’s ones, but from an altered point of view: the will to celebrate the richness of culture. A convivial banquet evolves into an aperitivo which keeps the colors, rituals and cooking techniques of 1600’s, but switches the shapes, codes and behavioural manners.

The experience started with a ritual path, recalling a Greek custom: break the bread; do the “scarpetta”, a typical Italian gesture that consists in dipping the bread in the olive oil, collecting and tasting it; take the wine and drink it in order to “clean” the mouth before the meal. The ritual before the aperitivo was designed to encourage the public in being aware and lucid about the experience, the meal, the food and especially, their meanings. It wanted to help cleaning the mind before the convivial banquet, and to enhance the feeling of being in contact with the Mediterranean cuisine (homemade bread, extra virgin olive oil, wine) and the Sicilian cultural heritage in general.

The menu was planned using some of the typical ingredients of the ancient banquets, but reimagining the way to serve and therefore to consume the food. On the other hand it remained constant the concept of conviviality around food and the representation of food as a symbol and a medium to communicate.