A restaurant where it's not just what you eat that matters, but who cooks it. From an idea by Silvio Piscionieri , 64, a retired Carabinieri marshal, he opened RistorAut in Cagliari, a place where vulnerable young people are the protagonists of the work, the cooking, and a project of inclusion and independence.

The restaurant is dedicated to Stefano Feniello, one of the 29 victims of the Rigopiano tragedy , who was pulled lifeless from the rubble after more than 50 hours. And the restaurant itself houses nine paintings recovered from the hotel on the Gran Sasso mountain in Abruzzo, which was overwhelmed by the avalanche in 2017.

Six people work in the dining room and at the stove , including a girl with Down syndrome and a boy with epilepsy. "I'm a reject," Piscionieri says bluntly. Abandoned at birth, he was adopted in the province of Latina by a couple who educated him and gave him a second life. "We can't always dwell on the pain; we have to transform it into something good," he explains. For the young people, it's the first step on a journey : in three years, they'll receive a certificate that could open the doors to the world of work.

On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, the shop also becomes a bread, cake, and fresh pasta workshop, serving those most in need. "We donate; we don't want anything in return," says Piscionieri, who, with his colleague Antonio Tamponi, aims to open more workshops in the area because "we're the ones who need to reach out to the kids."

(Unioneonline)

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