Who we are

Luciana Spurio, Le Virtù’s Executive Chef, was born in Ascoli Piceno in Le Marche, Italy and later moved a short distance across the Tronto River to Abruzzo. From an early age, she profited from her mother’s instruction and the area’s singular proximity to the Adriatic Sea, the agricultural hill country and the mountainous pastoral hinterland to learn the traditional methods for cooking the region’s diverse products and dishes: lamb and mutton, wild boar, homemade pasta, olive ascolane (stuffed olives), brodetti (fish stews), scrippelle (crepes), maccheroncini alla chitarra (pasta cut on a wired, guitar-like box) and all the customary dishes prepared by families for holidays and special occasions. Her love of Italian cuisine led her to study the traditions and dishes of other regions beyond Abruzzo and Le Marche. The kitchen became her first passion and, with the encouragement of friends and gourmands, her principal occupation.

She has plied this occupation with success and acclaim in Tuscany, Puglia, Lombardia, Piedmont, and of course Abruzzo and Le Marche. Le Virtù is her first venture in the United States.

She is committed to offering Le Virtù’s clientele genuine dishes prepared with quality ingredients and scrupulous attention and respect for the traditions and authenticity of Mediterranean cuisine.
She lives in South Philadelphia

Le Virtù’s owners are Francis Cratil Cretarola and Catherine Lee. Francis is a Pennsylvania native with familial roots in Abruzzo’s Teramo province; Catherine Lee is a former native of New York City and northern New Jersey. They have lived and traveled for extended periods in Abruzzo, staying in small mountain villages and larger cities, gaining knowledge of the region’s treasures and a love and passion for its people and culture. They periodically guide culinary tours of the region.

Since 2006 they have been the North American representatives for DisCanto (www.discanto.net), an Abruzzo-based musical quintet dedicated to the preservation and performance of traditional Abruzzese music.
Francis and Catherine live in South Philadelphia.

Francis’s brother Fred Cratil Cretarola, rounds out Le Virtù’s core group as co-manager. He also lives in South Philadelphia.