Me and my experience

I was born and raised in Panicale, Italy, a magnificent medieval village overlooking Lake Trasimeno. At sixteen I began working in the family wine shop, beginning my journey into the world of wine. When I started university at the Luiss in Rome, I continued to stay close to the food and wine space, managing my family’s  renowned restaurant, 'Lillotatini', in parallel with my studies. While I earned a degree in finance, I realised wine and hospitality were my true passion and chose to immerse myself completely. I soon found myself managing restaurants in London, Sydney and Melbourne, became a sommelier, and started writing my personal blog about wine on Instagram, now one of the most followed in Italy.

In 2016, I opened my first restaurant in Amsterdam, 'La Maschera del Lillotatini'. Two years later the restaurant was recognised as one of the Netherlands’ top 10 Italian restaurants in the Netherlands. And in 2019, 'Momenti’ was born, an even more ambitious project, with the goal of being the number one location for Italian food and wine in the Netherlands.


My journey and passion for wine

Every year in my small hometown we celebrate 'La festa dell'Uva' ( ‘the Grape Festival) where the wine flows in rivers. Even as a child, I waited every year for that event. At the time, I didn't even drink alcohol but I was still fascinated by the atmosphere. Wine made people talk, laugh, and united an entire town in celebration. 

When I had a glass of wine for the first time at the age of sixteen, it felt as if I were  encountering a work of art. And I knew that fully appreciating it would require knowledge and tools that I did not possess. 

Wine is like any other passion in life, it changes your way of thinking and acting, and brings you closer to all those who share it with you. Wine is capable of connecting and creating moments of great intellectual intimacy with people unknown a few minutes before.