A new era begins for Giovanni Bartocci (above and below, left) and Marco Ventura at Via Della Pace. (The two also recently opened the small grocery Via Della Scrofa at 60 E. Fourth St.) Last night, the restaurant had a soft opening in its new home at 87 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery... after months of delays while waiting for approvals on various permits and licenses.

As Bartocci told us at the start of the year: "We are close — very, very close to opening. Close to opening sounds funny, but we have been almost ready since the end of July, but nothing is playing on our side. We are stubborn, and we don’t give up!"