Milan, 1929. There is a revolution in the centre of the city: a new pavement in Piazza Duomo, the straight stretch between San Babila and San Fedele’s apsis, the Odeon Theatre’s palace. Despite the crisis, overcome by the stockbrokers moving from Piazza Cordusio to Piazza Affari, Milano discovers the first “frigidaire” in the windows in Via Montenapoleone and the first talking picture in Italy at the ‘Corso’ Cinema. Publisher Mondadori launches the first “thriller”, the theatre brings a Russian wave with “Boris” at La Scala, “The Living Corpse” e “The three sisters” (directed by Pitoeff) at the ‘Manzoni’ theatre in Piazza S. Fedele and with an adaptation of “Resurrection” at the ‘Filodrammatici’, in which Tatiana Pavlova was the protagonist.
In the salons people talk about Thomas Mann, Italo Svevo and Moravia comes out with a novel that was totally outside Mussolini’s triumphalist atmosphere: “Gli indifferenti”.

Right in 1929, in Via Agnello “a Santa Lucia” opens: it is the restaurant that will launch Neapolitan pizza and cuisine in Milan, created by Leone Legnani, a Modenese with a great experience in Parthenopean recipes, and by his wife Rosetta. Among the very first clients D’Annunzio and then Mascagni together with the legendary Russian bass Scialiapin, who were at La Scala for “Boris”.
But luck came with the Austrian dancers of the revue called “Al Cavallino Bianco” of the Schwarz brothers – incredible theatrical success at the beginning of the ‘30s – who were there every night, captured by delicious pizza, spaghetti and fish. The news of those excellent dishes spread and Joséphine Baker, the wild mulatta that had opened the nearby theatre “Giardino dell’Odeon”, arrived.
Yves Montand, Sergio Tofano, Paolo Stoppa, Eduardo De Filippo, Totò, Wanda Osiris and the most important celebrities of the show business followed, and chose “a Santa Lucia” as their meeting place after the show. Everyone has his place like at Maxim’s; everyone offers his portrait with a dedication and the walls fill up. In 1957, the new urban structure wipes out part of Via Agnello and “a Santa Lucia” moves to Via S. Pietro all’Orto, with its kitchen, its tables, all its furniture and even the original sign. And the show business tradition goes on: Belafonte, Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, Placido Domingo, Gassman, Mastroianni, Sordi, Maria Callas, Delon, followed by great football players, directors, TV stars. The portraits with dedication on the walls that wrap the guests in a precious celebrity atmosphere are now more that 400 and keep increasing, because here journalists, directors, actors, singers, businessmen from all over the world keep making appointments.
Right because of the celebrities that patronized it, its events and furniture and evidence of its origins, “a Santa Lucia” belongs to the Italian Historical Spots’ Association, that gathers the 200 most ancient and prestigious restaurants, hotels, confectioners’, literary coffee bars that made the history of our Country. Today “a Santa Lucia” is run by Alberto Cortesi who, since the ‘60s has signed successful restaurants in Milan.

In the pictures: Via Vittorio Emanuele in 1929 and “a Santa Lucia” in Via Agnello in 1957 (Civic Photographic Archives of Milan); the playbill of “Al Cavallino Bianco” (Achille Bertarelli’s Civic Collection of Prints, Milan).