Chefs Joe Cicala and Angela Ranalli-Cicala have taken the bold step of opening a white-tablecloth Italian restaurant off the beaten path, on the ground floor of the Divine Lorraine Hotel on North Broad Street at Fairmount Avenue. It’s about two blocks from the Met in a fast-emerging slice of town where the Francisville, Spring Garden, and Poplar neighborhoods converge.

The couple — he’s a savory chef from suburban Washington, with specialties in pastas and salumi; she’s Bucks County- and South Jersey-raised, and focused on pastry — were the culinary team behind South Philadelphia’s well-regarded Le Virtu and Brigantessa before a huffy departure in mid-2017. Since then, they have been leading culinary tours of Italy, a practice that will continue.