The Zabariona brings together two stories: Rosa Betti, a popular figure in 19th-century Ravenna, and Andrea Rondinelli’s family, active in hospitality for three generations.
Rosa Betti, the Zabariona
Ravenna remembered Rosa Betti by the nickname “la Zabariona”. She ran a popular osteria in the late 19th century, and her name remains linked to a direct, generous and informal idea of hospitality.
A family story since 1967
On 1 March 1967, Andrea’s grandfather Giovanni began the family’s restaurant story alongside its first cook. In the background of the period photograph are his fifteen-year-old son and the seventeen-year-old woman who would later become his wife: Andrea’s parents.
The Zabariona returns
In 2021 Andrea Rondinelli opened today’s Osteria dalla Zabariona at Via Giuliano Argentario 19, in Ravenna’s historic centre. The name looks back to the city’s memory; the cooking continues the family story through Romagna recipes, small producers and seasonality.
Research, hospitality and place
Andrea meets producers, listens to local testimony and studies recipes at risk of disappearing. Every guest receives the same welcome: the story begins with the food, not with the fame of the person at the table.
