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Artefact Specialty Coffee in Frascati, near Rome, combines a multiroaster coffee program with restored equipment from Italy’s bakery trade. Founder Omar Cirulli says he hopes to grow the cafe’s cultural work, potentially by moving to a larger space for displays and public programming.
Artefact Specialty Coffee, a cafe in Frascati outside Rome, is pairing a multiroaster coffee menu with restored machinery from Italy’s bakery trade, according to a Nov. 9 report by Daily Coffee News. Founder Omar Cirulli says he is considering a larger space to display more of the equipment and host additional public programming, making the cafe’s future growth relevant to both its coffee business and its effort to share local industrial heritage.
Artefact opened on Nov. 12, 2023, in the historic center of Frascati. Its interior puts vintage bakery equipment to practical use: an old bakery worktable serves as the counter, and metal racks from traditional bakery trolleys have been adapted as shelves. Cirulli told Daily Coffee News that he wanted the objects to remain part of everyday activity rather than function only as decoration.
The collection includes a reconstructed mid-19th-century mechanical transmission system, as well as an early-20th-century refining machine and arm mixer. Cirulli said he manually operates parts of the machinery to show visitors how the mechanisms worked. The devices demonstrate how power was distributed in bakery workshops before machines commonly had individual motors, and how bakery technology changed with water, steam and electric power.
The coffee program serves espresso and V60 pour-over using roasts from Italian and international suppliers. The current espresso lineup includes coffee from Coffeeriff, a small-batch roastery in Papozze, Italy, run by Johnny Lodo. Equipment at the bar includes a restored 1960s Faema E61 espresso machine, La Pavoni Cellini and Europiccola machines, and a Eureka Drogheria MCD4 grinder. Artefact also sources baked goods from a cafe and pastry shop run by Cirulli’s brother, Mattia, and his partner, Valentina, the report says.
A Cafe With a Working Heritage Collection
Artefact’s model connects the daily business of serving coffee with the preservation and interpretation of bakery technology. Visitors encounter historic machinery in a working cafe, while the equipment provides a tangible account of how bakery production changed. Cirulli’s comments frame the project as an attempt to make that history accessible, rather than as a separate museum display.
The approach also brings together two parts of Italian coffee culture that can be discussed as distinct: familiar espresso traditions and the sourcing and preparation practices associated with specialty coffee. Cirulli says Artefact treats them as compatible. The cafe’s multiroaster selection and pour-over service sit alongside espresso made on restored Italian machines, giving customers more than one way to engage with coffee.
Any expansion could affect how much of the collection the cafe can show and how many public activities it can host. Cirulli told the publication that growth is not just about sales; he wants economic activity to help preserve and share industrial heritage. No move or expansion has been confirmed.
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From Family Workshop to Frascati Cafe
The project grew from Cirulli’s family connection to bakery equipment. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he began working more closely with his father, a technician who repairs and recovers professional bakery machinery. Cirulli said that work led him to restore equipment and rediscover documents about technological and social changes in the bakery sector.
His brother’s business helped bring Cirulli closer to cafe operations and coffee preparation. The family’s pastry business now supplies baked goods to Artefact, linking the cafe’s food offering to that background. The location in Frascati’s historic center gives the collection a public setting, while the coffee service provides the day-to-day commercial activity around it.
Artefact identifies itself as a multiroaster cafe, with coffees from Italy and abroad. Its current espresso selection includes Coffeeriff; the report also describes a rotating selection for V60 preparation. Cirulli characterizes the menu as a bridge between Italian espresso habits and specialty coffee’s attention to bean origin, producers, roasting and extraction.
“I don’t see specialty coffee and traditional Italian espresso as opposing worlds.”
— Omar Cirulli, Artefact founder, speaking to Daily Coffee News
Expansion Plans Remain Open
Cirulli has discussed the possibility of a larger space, but the report does not say that Artefact has secured a location, set a timetable or committed to a move. The scale, funding and format of any future public programming are also not specified. The account does not provide financial results, attendance figures or evidence of the cafe’s commercial performance, so the sustainability of an expanded model cannot yet be assessed.
The machinery’s history is described through Cirulli’s restoration work and explanations, but the report does not give a full inventory, conservation assessment or independent historical verification for every item. The current coffee lineup may also change because Artefact rotates coffees and suppliers.
More Space and Public Programs
Cirulli says he is looking at ways to expand Artefact’s cultural work, including the possibility of a larger venue that could accommodate more of the collection and additional public programming. No schedule or specific next event is reported. For now, the cafe continues to operate at Via Janari 4 in Frascati, serving espresso, V60 coffee and baked goods supplied by the family pastry business.
The next clear developments to watch are whether Cirulli identifies a new location, announces public activities or changes the collection on display. Until those plans are confirmed, the reported expansion remains an intention rather than a decided project.
Key Questions
Where is Artefact Specialty Coffee?
Artefact is at Via Janari 4 in the historic center of Frascati, Italy, outside Rome.
When did Artefact open?
The cafe officially opened on Nov. 12, 2023, according to Daily Coffee News.
What makes Artefact’s interior distinctive?
It uses restored bakery machinery and fittings in everyday service. An old bakery worktable serves as the counter, while metal trolley racks are used as shelving. The collection also includes a reconstructed 19th-century mechanical transmission system and early-20th-century bakery machines.
What coffee does Artefact serve?
Artefact serves espresso from a multiroaster selection and V60 pour-over from rotating coffees. Its current espresso lineup includes Coffeeriff, an Italian small-batch roaster based in Papozze.
Is Artefact moving to a larger location?
That has not been confirmed. Founder Omar Cirulli told Daily Coffee News he is considering a larger space for more of the collection and public programming, but no location or timetable has been announced.
Source: dailycoffeenews.com
