- Insiders Profile -

Maureen Tursi

Maureen is the founder and director of La Famiglia Atelier, a creative house where food, wine, design, and culture come together under one roof. Alongside her lifelong friends and business partners, Agustina Caubarrere and Josefina Marsano, she has created a space that brings together chefs, independent producers, artists, makers, and curious minds through food, wine, workshops, and creative collaborations.

Rooted in the Italian philosophy of conviviality but shaped by Lisbon's creative energy, La Famiglia Atelier is currently in what the team calls a "slow opening", an intentional unfolding that reflects their belief that meaningful places, like good wine or good food, deserve time to mature. More than a destination, it is a community in the making, built around the simple pleasure of gathering and creating genuine connections.

◆ Imagine someone is visiting La Famiglia Atelier for the very first time. What do you hope they feel before they even leave?

We hope they feel that time slowed down. That they entered a place where there is no rush, where there is time to look at one another, to listen, to be curious, to discover something new, and to leave carrying something invisible but meaningful.

Not only feeling more like themselves, but somehow expanded. As if they had remembered a part of themselves that had been quietly waiting. We want people to feel at home. The kind of home that doesn’t belong to walls, but to a feeling. In a world where expectations often replace genuine invitations, we simply want to share what is already alive and present. Nothing to prove. Just a table, good food, beauty, and the possibility of meeting life again.

◆ If you had to describe La Famiglia Atelier in just three words, what would they be?

Curiosity. Warmth. Ritual. Or perhaps… Belonging. Beauty. Presence.

◆ La Famiglia is difficult to define because it’s not simply a wine bar, a restaurant, or a creative space. If you had just one minute to explain the concept, how would you describe it?

La Famiglia is a home for people who experience life through beauty. A place where food is made with memory, clothes tell stories, and evenings unfold through music, poetry, conversation, and art.

It isn’t simply a café, a restaurant, or a cultural space. It carries the spirit of all three. Inspired by Mediterranean warmth, Sicilian textures and the generosity of Middle Eastern hospitality, La Famiglia brings together food, craftsmanship, performance and community under one living rhythm.

It’s a meeting place for artists, travellers, neighbours and anyone who still believes that handmade things carry a different kind of soul. Days are slow and tactile, nights become full of expression, and somewhere in between, strangers become familiar.

◆ Food plays such an important role in La Famiglia, yet you’ve chosen to work through collaborations with different chefs rather than having a permanent restaurant. What inspired that decision?

Food is one of the ways we care for people. Of course we have our own kitchen and our own menus, inspired by honest ingredients, generous flavours and the perfumes of the Mediterranean. We believe that when food is simple and thoughtfully made, it allows the mind to soften and the senses to open.

But what matters to us isn’t only what arrives on the plate; it’s how that plate came into existence. Today, so much of the culinary world is built around pressure, perfection, and constant urgency. People often pay a great deal of money to eat food that was created under stress. We don’t believe nourishment should come from that place.

We choose simplicity because we want both our team and our guests to experience another way of living. One rooted in care rather than performance. Our collaborations are an extension of that philosophy.

We believe everyone carries a gift that deserves to be shared. Every chef, every artisan, every artist brings a different culture, memory, and perspective that enriches our table. Our role is simply to curate those encounters with intention.

◆ Every event feels incredibly curated: from the wines and the food to the people around the table. What makes someone or something the perfect fit for a La Famiglia collaboration?

We’re not looking for perfection; we’re looking for humanity. People who remain curious about life. Who still know how to listen. Who are generous with what they know and humble enough to keep learning.

Whether someone is a Michelin-starred chef or someone baking bread for their neighbours, what matters is the spirit behind what they do. La Famiglia belongs to anyone willing to come with an open heart. Locals, travellers, artists, families, curious souls. Everyone is welcome.

◆ Community seems to be at the heart of everything you do. Was there a particular moment when you realised you were building something much bigger than just a beautiful venue?

We simply followed a whisper. There was something quietly calling us towards creating a place that didn’t yet exist. Even during the difficult moments, that feeling never disappeared. The vision was never only about beauty, but about making people feel alive again.

Creating a space where wine helps people relax and open up, where food becomes a gentle excuse to gather. Where art reminds us how to feel. Where workshops help people reconnect with their own hands and become a little more self-sufficient again.

Supporting artisans and artists isn’t just something we do. We believe they’re essential for bringing warmth back into a world that is becoming increasingly digital and disconnected. When we look around today, we realise every detail of this house grew from that same whisper.

◆ Italian culture clearly inspires the project. Beyond the food and wine, what values or traditions have you tried to bring to Lisbon through La Famiglia?

Italy inspired us less through recipes than through values. The belief that beauty belongs in everyday life, that meals deserve time, that conversation is part of dinner, and that hospitality isn’t about impressing people but making them feel they belong.

We’re honestly a little tired of perfection. Fine dining can sometimes feel distant, almost afraid of being human. We’re much more interested in warmth, in food that comforts, tables where people laugh loudly. In imperfection that feels true.

◆ Lisbon has become one of Europe’s most exciting creative and culinary cities. Where do you think hospitality is heading, and what do people truly seek today when they choose a place to spend their time?

People have more choices than ever, but very few places make you feel genuinely present. We believe hospitality is becoming more intimate, more personal, and more authentic.

People aren’t searching for luxury anymore. They’re searching for places where humanity comes before business. Where they can exhale, where someone remembers their name. Where they leave feeling fuller than when they arrived—not only in their stomach, but in their spirit.

◆ As a Lisbon Insider, what would be your perfect 24-hour Lisbon itinerary? We’d love your recommendations for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a drink.

Breakfast at Tact, in Lapa.
A slow walk through Estrela afterwards.
Lunch at Salón.
An afternoon coffee at Buna
A glass of wine at I nsaciáv el
Dinner at La Joya or Fami lji en
Drink at Bar na Colina.
And dinner at La Famiglia, where hopefully the evening becomes longer than anyone planned.

◆ Finally, what exciting collaborations, events, or new ideas can we expect from La Famiglia Atelier over the coming months?

We’re only just beginning.

I grew up in a Waldorf school, where creativity wasn’t treated as something extraordinary—it was simply part of everyday life. That way of seeing the world continues to shape everything we do, and so does the community growing around us.

Over the coming months, you’ll discover our daytime café, inspired by Sicily, with homemade conserves, fermentations, seasonal produce, and quiet feminine touches rooted in the rhythms of the land. Fresh handmade pasta, long dinners, music, art exhibitions, poetry nights, pasta-making rituals, jewellery workshops, biodynamic conversations, reading circles, talks, and many other reasons to gather.

More than a programme of events, we’re slowly building a way of living. One where beauty is shared, knowledge circulates freely, and everyone leaves carrying a little more warmth than they arrived with.

Maureen’s Clothing Brand