Bracevia – A Tutta Pecora

The people behind it

Behind Bracevia are Agnese Volpone and Maurizio Cutropia, a couple whom Virtù Quotidiane places in San Giovanni Teatino, in the province of Chieti. According to Notizie d'Abruzzo and Virtù Quotidiane the project began in 2005 with a clear idea: to promote sheep meat and, at the same time, to make Abruzzo known around Italy and tell its story. Both outlets name Maurizio Cutropia as the owner of the business, and he collected the Gambero Rosso award in July 2024.

For years Bracevia was above all a travelling project. The website explains that since 2008 the couple has carried arrosticini around town squares aboard a vintage yellow Fiat 500 converted into a cooking station, appearing at the major Italian food events, from the International Street Food Festival in Cesena to the Salone del Gusto in Turin. After the pandemic came an online shop, shipping across Italy, and a permanent osteria in Francavilla al Mare.

Sources: Notizie d'Abruzzo — Bracevia a Tutta Pecora coi suoi arrosticini premiato dal Gambero Rosso · Virtù Quotidiane — Slow Food e Gambero Rosso, trionfa Bracevia-A tutta Pecora · Bracevia — Eventi (sito ufficiale)

What they make

The heart of the offer is the Abruzzo arrosticino, the skewer of sheep meat cooked over embers. Bracevia's website describes three versions: the classic, of adult sheep meat, at 22–23 grams; the handmade one, at 28–32 grams, prepared the traditional way with three lean pieces alternating with two of fat; and the liver skewer, at 30–34 grams, with liver, onion and fresh chilli. Traditional cooking happens on the canalina, the long, narrow grill typical of Abruzzo.

Alongside the arrosticini the website lists small sheep steaks and sheep chunks for stew, burgers and other preparations, together with a small selection of wines, oil, cheeses and salt. Virtù Quotidiane notes that the liver with onion and chilli is one of the products that made Bracevia known at events. The osteria brings all of this into a permanent venue, open in the evening every day of the week.

Sources: Bracevia — Gli arrosticini (sito ufficiale) · Bracevia — sito ufficiale · Virtù Quotidiane — Slow Food e Gambero Rosso, trionfa Bracevia-A tutta Pecora · Bracevia — L'Osteria (sito ufficiale)

Ingredients and territory

The meat is sheep, and Bracevia's website explains where it comes from. The breeds named are Italian Merino-type, Bergamasca and, sometimes, Sopravissana; the flocks graze in Abruzzo, Molise, Marche, Lazio and sometimes in Puglia. Only animals that meet specific age and weight criteria are selected, and the first-choice adult sheep meat matures for six to ten days before it is processed.

Notizie d'Abruzzo reports that the meat comes from organic farms in Abruzzo and, in periods of highest demand, also from the Irish market; the website specifies that in that case the sheep meet the same quality standards. The arrosticini are made without preservatives or colourings, and the website uses the label "handmade" for those prepared by hand. According to the website they are prepared on the same day they are shipped, so that they arrive fresh to those who order them.

Sources: Bracevia — sito ufficiale · Bracevia — Gli arrosticini (sito ufficiale) · Notizie d'Abruzzo — Bracevia a Tutta Pecora coi suoi arrosticini premiato dal Gambero Rosso

Recognition

The most important recognition comes from Slow Food. In the official list of Osterie d'Italia 2026 Snails, published by Slow Food on 17 October 2025, Bracevia – A Tutta Pecora in Francavilla al Mare is among the fourteen osterie awarded in Abruzzo; the newspaper Il Centro, in its report on the edition, places it among the guide's regional cuisines. The Snail had already come with Osterie d'Italia 2024, for the first time according to Virtù Quotidiane, and Bracevia's website speaks of a third Snail for 2026.

The second recognition comes from Gambero Rosso: in the Street Food 2025 guide Bracevia received the special national award "Street Food on The Road", presented in July 2024, as reported by Virtù Quotidiane and Notizie d'Abruzzo. The Gambero Rosso entry cannot be read without access, so the award is documented through these two outlets.

Sources: Slow Food — Tutte le Chiocciole di Osterie d'Italia 2026, regione per regione · Il Centro — «Osterie d'Italia»: l'Abruzzo brilla nella guida Slow Food, conquistate 14 Chiocciole · Slow Food — Tutte le Chiocciole di Osterie d'Italia 2024 · Virtù Quotidiane — Slow Food e Gambero Rosso, trionfa Bracevia-A tutta Pecora · Notizie d'Abruzzo — Bracevia a Tutta Pecora coi suoi arrosticini premiato dal Gambero Rosso · Bracevia — sito ufficiale

Going there

The osteria is at Piazza Sirena 9 in Francavilla al Mare, in the province of Chieti. According to the website it opens in the evening: Monday to Friday from 6:30 pm to 11 pm, Saturday until 11:30 pm and Sunday from 6 pm to 10:30 pm. For bookings the website gives the number 371 536 0722; a WhatsApp contact is also listed.

Those who cannot reach Francavilla can find the same arrosticini in Bracevia's online shop, which ships across Italy, and in town squares: the website lists among its events the Festival del Cibo in Strada in Cesena, Artigiano in Fiera in Milan and Terra Madre in Turin, where the couple arrives with the yellow Fiat 500. The opening hours are those published on the website: it is worth checking them before setting off.

Sources: Bracevia — L'Osteria (sito ufficiale) · Bracevia — Eventi (sito ufficiale) · Bracevia — sito ufficiale

Products and flavours

Arrosticini (Abruzzo lamb skewers)

PAT · Meats and cured meats

Open the product page →

Abruzzo arrosticini

Mutton skewers cooked on the canala, a story tied to transhumance, recognition as a traditional product and the road towards EU protection: how and where to understand them.

Read the guide →

Photo: Marica Massaro / Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized and converted to WebP.

The region

Abruzzo