It is hard to imagine a need or niche that is left for another new Italian restaurant in South Philadelphia. But that didn't deter Luke Palladino, who picked up one of his prosciutto-wrapped, truffle-buttered bread sticks and waved that magic wand over a forlorn corner of East Passyunk Avenue.

On that sharply angled parcel just east of Broad Street, the humble building with a caved-in roof was the former Colombo's, once known for tripe and house-baked bread. And Palladino has given it a thoroughly swanky revamp, from the posh interior with padded alcove banquettes and a sleek marble bar, to an exterior trimmed with a handsome portico for al fresco dining, and boldly striped walls wrapped in horizontal black-and-white bands to evoke a Sienese cathedral.

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Source: http://www.philly.com/