CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy — Two local restaurant legends are teaming up with Pope Leo XIV and the Vatican to bring their artful dishes to a former Papal retreat located outside Rome.

Pope Leo XIV and the Vatican announced Friday that they are teaming up with Chicago chef Art Smith and Chicago restaurateur Phil Stefani for a new restaurant concept that will open in the heart of the Vatican’s Borgo Laudato Si', in Castel Gandolfo, Italy.

The Vatican's Borgo Laudato Si' is a new Vatican-run ecological training center that sits on about 135 acres in the Italian countryside, on the grounds of the Pontifical Villas in Castel Gandolfo.

The project was first announced by Pope Francis in 2023 and looks to carry on his ecological legacy.

Pope Leo's announcement came during a larger inauguration of

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