Release Date: October 13, 2008

Garden CafÉ: Italia at National Gallery of Art Offers Cuisine by Italian Chefs from Naples and Washington, DC for Exhibition Pompeii and the Roman Villa: New Menu Starts October 14; Exhibition Opens October 19, 2008

Chefs from left to right: Chef Fabio Salvatore of Café Milano in Georgetown, Washington, DC; Chef Arturo Iengo of Ristorante Pascalucci in Benevento, Italy; and David Rogers of Restaurant Associates, National Gallery of Art,, standing in front of a photomural of of the painting Vesuvius from Portici by Joseph Wright (c. 1774-1776). Photo by Deborah Ziska © 2008 Board of Trustees, National Gallery of Art, Washington

Visitors to the National Gallery of Art’s Garden Café Italia may enjoy cuisine from the region of Campania—home to Naples, Salerno, Capri, and the Amalfi Coast—in signature dishes from Chef Arturo Iengo of Ristorante Pascalucci in Benevento, Italy, and Chef Fabio Salvatore of Café Milano in Georgetown, Washington, DC, in conjunction with the exhibition Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture around the Bay of Naples. The exhibition is on view in the Gallery’s East Building, October 19, 2008, through March 22, 2009.

The buffet and à la carte menu in Garden Café: Italia is available through early January 25, 2009. The café, one of the most distinctive dining spots in the nation’s capital, is situated around a fountain near the West Building entrance at 6th Street and Constitution Avenue NW.

Garden Café: Italia and Public Tasting with Chefs
on October 14

The Garden Café: Italia à la carte menu features Braciolone alla Napoletana (pork roulade with prosciutto, Parmesan, and parsley) and Babà cake (yeast cake soaked in rum syrup) by Chef Iengo; Sformatino di Pasta (timbale of pasta with eggplant and veal ragú) and Panna Cotta by Chef Salvatore; and Lasagna Tartufata di Porcini (baked mushroom lasagna) and Zuppa di Pesce (seafood stew in a tomato-vegetable broth) by Chef David Rogers of Restaurant Associates at the National Gallery of Art. The chefs worked with Rogers, who also developed the buffet items.

All chefs will be present for a free public tasting of their signature dishes from 11:00 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, October 14, in the Garden Café: Italia. They will be available to answer questions and sign recipe cards.

From noon to 1:00 p.m. in Garden Café: Italia, Chef Arturo Iengo will sign copies of his latest cookbook, Cucina Napoletana: 100 Recipes from Italy’s Most Vibrant City, which is available for sale in the Gallery’s exhibition and holiday shops.

Buffet menu selections include traditional dishes such as fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil; arugula and radicchio with pine nuts, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and aged balsamic dressing; roasted olives with orange zest and fresh herbs; Orecchiette Arrabiata with San Marzano tomatoes grown in the land surrounding Mt. Vesuvius; broccoli rabe with roasted garlic and pepperoncino; grilled balsamic vegetables; lemon chicken; tomato tart with leeks and Pecorino Romano cheese; fresh berries with honey-scented mascarpone cheese; focaccia and crispy bread sticks; and fresh oranges.

Beer, juice, bottled water, soda, and Italian wine are also available, as well as cappuccino and espresso. The price of the full buffet is $19.25; à la carte items are priced accordingly.

Garden Café: Italia is open Monday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 4:00 p.m. A special dessert and beverage menu is served from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. to accommodate visitors who attend the free Sunday evening concerts in the West Garden Court. To reserve for groups of eight or more, please contact the café manager at (202) 714-7454.

For more information about the Gallery and its restaurants, visit www.nga.gov/dining.

The Exhibition

Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture around the Bay of Naples presents some 150 works of sculpture, painting, mosaic, and luxury arts, most of them created before the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. They include recent discoveries on view in the U.S. for the first time and celebrated finds from earlier excavations. Exquisite objects from the richly decorated villas along the shores of the Bay of Naples and from houses in the nearby towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum reveal the breadth and richness of cultural and artistic life, as well as the influence of classical Greece on Roman art and culture in this region.

The first exhibition devoted to ancient Roman art at the National Gallery of Art will premiere in Washington October 19, 2008, through March 22, 2009, and travel to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, May 3 through October 4, 2009.

Exhibition Organization and Support
Pompeii and the Roman Villa is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in association with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, with the cooperation of the Direzione Regionale per i Beni Culturali e Paesaggistici della Campania and the Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompei.
The exhibition in Washington is made possible by The Exhibition Circle of the National Gallery of Art.
It is also made possible by Mr. and Mrs. Joe L. Allbritton.
Bank of America is proud to be the national sponsor.

The exhibition in Washington is also supported by The Charles Engelhard Foundation and by Mary and Michael Jaharis.

Additional funding in Washington is provided by Robert and Arlene Kogod, the John J. Medveckis Foundation, and the Malcolm Hewitt Wiener Foundation.

The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

Lead funding for the catalogue is provided by the Leon Levy Foundation. An additional grant toward the catalogue has been provided courtesy of Rita Venturelli, director, Italian Cultural Institute, Washington, and Francesca Valente, director, Italian Cultural Institute, Los Angeles. We are grateful to the HRH Foundation for supporting the film made on the occasion of the exhibition and for making possible the exhibition brochure.

General Information

The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden are at all times free to the public. They are located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, and are open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Gallery is closed on December 25 and January 1. For information call (202) 737-4215 or the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) at (202) 842-6176, or visit the Gallery's Web site at www.nga.gov.

Visitors will be asked to present all carried items for inspection upon entering the East and West Buildings. Checkrooms are free of charge and located at each entrance. Luggage and other oversized bags must be presented at the 4th Street entrances to the East or West Building to permit x-ray screening and must be deposited in the checkrooms at those entrances. For the safety of visitors and the works of art, nothing may be carried into the Gallery on a visitor's back. Any bag or other items that cannot be carried reasonably and safely in some other manner must be left in the checkrooms. Items larger than 17 x 26 inches cannot be accepted by the Gallery or its checkrooms.

For additional press information please call or send inquiries to:

Press Office
National Gallery of Art
2000B South Club Drive
Landover, MD 20785
phone: (202) 842-6353 e-mail: pressinfo@nga.gov

Deborah Ziska
Chief of Press and Public Information
(202) 842-6353
ds-ziska@nga.gov

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