In the late 1950s and early 60s, Italy was experiencing an economic boom and restaurateur Giggi Fazzi saw that people in this post-World War II era were ready to go out and enjoy themselves.

He opened his first restaurant in Rome and later established another in Milan.

This was at the height of La Dolce Vita era, named after Federico Fellini’s 1960 film of the same name which captured people’s longing for light-hearted pleasures and ‘the sweet life.’

The celebrated Italian film director was a regular for years and would later call Giggi Fazzi’s ‘the most Roman of restaurants’ for its superb food and service.

Other celebrities who patronized the restaurant in Via Lucullo were Elizabeth Taylor ( who loved bucatini pasta) and her husband Richard Burton, Rita Hayworth, Ava Gardner, Frank Sinatra,  Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, Luchino Visconti and Gianni Agnelli.

Signor Fazzi was obviously quite a personality – he was immortalized as a cartoon character in the revered British magazine Punch – and this menu is certainly one of the most unusual we have come across.

The ingredients are anthropomorphized, and calorie counts are given for each dish. It is a wonderful example of Italian vintage menu art- full of imagination and humor.

Signor Fazzi – known as the King of the Kitchen – established other successful restaurants in Italy during his famous career.

We believe this menu is a later one, from the 1980s.