BUCA DI BEPPO BRINGS IT HOME OLD-STYLE RESTAURANT MAKES EVERYONE FEEL MORE ITALIAN.

Byline: Amy Raisin Staff Writer

VALENCIA - Old photos of rotund ladies stirring vats of sauce and portly men lounging in the Sicilian sun keep watch over empty banquette booths, which will support heaping trays of pasta and chatty diners when Buca di Beppo opens next month in Valencia.

With Sinatra crooning in the background and basket-covered bottles of Chianti waiting to be consumed - Little Italy has arrived in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Due to open at the Valencia Town Center on March 12, Buca di Beppo - Italian slang for Joe's basement - is a feast of food and pop-culture-infused decor celebrating Italian celebrities, icons and traditions made famous when waves of immigrants arrived in America in the early 20th century.

``When you walk in you have a feeling of superiority, like 'my house is nicer than this.' It's not intimidating, which is good,'' said Steven Roberts, design director for Buca di Beppo. ``But then you taste the food and it all comes together. There's a lot more sophistication there than meets the eye.''

The restaurant, one of more than 80 nationwide, is a visual love letter to the Italian/American experience, from the 1950s black-and-white photos of Italian celebrities smiling for - and scowling at - the paparazzi, to the framed image of two black-robed seminary students enjoying a snowball fight outside an unidentified church.

As a team of artists, installers and designers hung frames and painted walls Thursday, New York-based Roberts held court over a table of pure kitsch, Italian style.

``They really sell these in Italy,'' he said, picking up an over-size lollipop decorated with the image of Pope John Paul II. ``I go over there a couple times a year and hit all the flea markets. It's amazing, the things you can find.''

The gold, plastic, bread loaf-size replica of the Vatican will likely end up in the Pope room, hands down the most requested table along with the ``kitchen table'' - a six-seat banquette built into the wall of every busy Buca kitchen.

Black-and-white stills of a kittenish Sophia Loren balance slice-of-life images of rambunctious 1940s-era school boys and old ladies with line-drawn faces shopping in an open-air market in Palermo.

Roberts, who oversees the design and decor of every Buca di Beppo, knows nearly every one of of the company's collection of 1,500 photographs. He began amassing the collection 10 years ago and has a knack for knowing which pictures will best complement a new restaurant.

Decor designer Alicia Relles, also based in New York, said she travels one to two weeks a month to restaurants across the country, helping create the distinct atmosphere now associated with the Minneapolis-based Buca Inc.

``It's pretty interesting, watching all of it come together,'' Relles said. ``But by the time we're done with our end, by the time the place opens and the food is here, we're usually off. I haven't had it in awhile, but I love the lemon chicken. And the pizza bianco. It's seriously the best.''

Anyone who's been to Rome may recognize the images of scruffy cats basking in the shade of ancient ruins. Others will grow nostalgic at the portrait of Joe DiMaggio.

But even those whose Italian experience begins and ends with ``The Sopranos'' will find some familiar humor: The word ``Goomba'' adorns the men's room door and diners often hear familiar strains from ``The Godfather'' soundtrack.

Holding to its family-style image, Buca manages to hint at the naughtier side of Italia - a topless woman with loose hair and tanned skin strategically holding fresh fruit is popular at many of the restaurants - without alienating the bambinos.

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Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Top, at the new Buca di Beppo (Italian slang for Joe's basement), artist Laurianne Thomas, above, adds some decorative touches to an interior wall Thursday. The Italian restaurant will open March 12 in Town Center Mall.

(3 -- color) Design director Steven Roberts holds a favorite piece at Buca de Beppo.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer