Markus: vesuvian cuisine 3.0

The new Markus restaurant was created as a collaboration between chef Maurizio De Riggi and architect Leonardo Caliandro, who are of a similar age and background and share a passion for art and photography.
Maurizio De Riggi, born in Naples in 1987, has a natural curiosity and determination and no shortage of ambition. He acquired his love of cooking from watching his grandmother prepare traditional Neapolitan dishes from produce grown by his grandfather, and by the age of 12 he had already chosen his future career. After studying and attending specialisation courses in Italy and abroad, he qualified as a chef at the age of 20. Just four years later he opened Markus, fulfilling his dream of running his own restaurant. From then on, he never looked back, and six years later decided to move the restaurant to a location more suited to his aspirations. For the new premises he chose the ground floor of a historic building in the centre of San Paolo Bel Sito, a town in the hills near Naples popular as a holiday destination in the nineteenth century.
Leonardo Caliandro was born in 1986 in the Apulia region of southern Italy, then in 2005 he moved to Milan where he graduated in interior design. He began his career working for various design firms and broadened his experience with a two-year stint in China. Together with Valentina Leporace, Paolo Palmisano and Simone Pietroforte, professionals of a similar age specialising in architecture, graphics and design, in 2016 he set up the practice Tetti degli Archi with offices in Milano and Cisternino (Brindisi). They specialised in custom projects, overseeing the entire design process from conception through to construction with the aim of offering contemporary, innovative solutions tailored to their customers’ needs.
The new Markus restaurant is a place of contrasts, where origins, inspirations and future intertwine.
The various areas are interconnected visually and conceptually by floor tiles reminiscent of in-situ concrete from Ceramica Fondovalle’s Portland collection. Produced using digital technology, the tiles form a sober floor covering that coordinates effectively with the almost 5-metre-high factory-like walls and the warm coloured furnishings.
Just like the interiors, the menu itself is a series of surprises. In place of the standard « appetiser, first course, second course and dessert », the courses are described as « Welcome, Start, Next and Epilogue », while dishes such as spaghetti « in three varieties of wheat, massaged in extra-virgin olive oil, mango, black garlic, DOP Campania buffalo mozzarella mousse, Vesuvian broad beans and essence of green tea » are decidedly « 3.0 » in concept.
The two communicating rooms, divided up by three smaller walls, reveal a variety of inspirations: the contemporary composition based on the circle framing the small open kitchen references the rural tradition; the use of natural wood extending to the sound-absorbing slats on the ceiling and the black chairs is reminiscent of a traditional trattoria; and the botanical wallpaper and long table are more in keeping with a contemporary sense of hospitality. And last but not least, as a tribute to his original source of inspiration, De Riggi has renovated his grandmother’s old sink for use in the bathroom.