About us

TONIA ESPOSITO – CREATOR AND ADMINISTRATOR

Born in Naples in 1979, I learned all the ancient secrets of Neapolitan cuisine from my mother Elvira, daughter of a cook, baker and pizza maker. When I lived in Naples, during my university studies, I worked a lot in hotel kitchens and took local cooking classes. Here in Brussels, I am still constantly studying to perfect my knowledge in catering and marketing in the food sector.

From 2004 to 2018 I worked in Rome in the communication and public relations departments of several NGOs involved in the field of environmental protection and human rights. I was responsible for managing major projects, media relations and events.

Arrived in Brussels with my family in 2018, I decided to combine all my passions and skills, both human and professional: my cultural identity, to create, to connect people, to cook, to take care of others and, above all, being so damn Neapolitan. I founded Napulitana in Brussels to take care of people in the unique style of Neapolitan mothers and to share a slice of my precious and unique cultural heritage and the Neapolitan lifestyle that I always carry with me.

My goal is to replicate the Napulitana experience in other places in Belgium and Europe!

What I do at the Ambasciata Napulitana: Cook, general coordination and development, relations with suppliers, communication and public relations, calendar of cultural and private events, organization of cooking classes.

“I only exist because inside me I remained above all and uniquely Neapolitan. Naples exists in me and always will. Fortunately, there is this treasure in me and, when I need it, I take it out.”

Sophie Loren

IACOPO VICIANI CO-FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR

I am an expert in institutional affairs and public relations. In Rome when I met Tonia I was working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a PhD in Political Science. Since 2018, I have been working at the European Commission.

In my private side, I am a budding editor and sommelier, passionate about historical readings and magazines, a deep connoisseur of ancient, modern and contemporary history. I am also an expert in the functioning of small and large associations. Before meeting Tonia in 2014, who became my life partner and mother of our two children, I didn’t really like Naples or the Neapolitans. I was born in Florence, our two cultures are very different and the Florentines often don’t like the Neapolitans very much because in our resolutely snobbish imaginary they are loud and vulgar. Then, after the meeting with Naples by Tonia, I understood why the “tourist who goes to Naples for the first time cries twice”, as they say. You cry when you arrive, because the impact with the city is undoubtedly very strong, and you cry when you leave, because Naples enters your heart and never leaves you. Now I dream of growing old and dying in Naples, with Tonia.

My strong desire to participate in the project designed by my wife was born from my passion for the culture and millennial history of the city and its extraordinary philosophy of life. No one better than a skeptic converted into an amateur can express the greatness of a culture like that of Naples. I am a proud ambassador of the gastronomic art of Naples. With Sicily, there is no other land where you eat better in Italy.

What I do at the Ambasciata Napulitana: Financial management, relations with all suppliers, coordination of the bookstore and relations with artists and publishing houses, institutional affairs, relations with clients, production of cultural events, responsible of wines and choice of drinks.