During the construction of the restaurant, it was Francesco who found a Roman “lucerna”, an oil lamp. He took it as a good omen, so he decided to give its name to his restaurant, meant to represent a “light in the middle of the sea”.

Initially built as a deli, the Lucerna soon became a full-fledged restaurant thanks to Calra’s culinary talent and Saura’s welcoming hospitality, so much so that it began to attract renowned poets, writers, artists and intellectuals like Cesare Pavese, Giulio Einaudi, Vittorio Sereni, Eugenio Montale, Elio Vittorini, Marguerite Duras and Franco Fortini.

Thanks to their success, in 1968 Francesco Ferro was able to build "La Terrazza", an overwater terrace on the other side of the street, serving as a summer dining area.

The story of the restaurant is the story of the Ferro family and this is how it starts, with Francesco’s ambitious vision and the patience and consistency with which Carla, Saura and Edda implemented it. When Saura and Carla decided to retire in 2001 the daughter Giusi Ferro and her husband Valter Sandri left everything behind in the town of Alba where they were living, and took over the restaurant, undertaking respectively hospitality and cooking responsibilities.

Inspired by their fresh enthusiasm, Giusi and Valter started to implement small changes in order to stay up-to-date, and passed on their passion to their children Martina, Gianmarco and Alberto.

In 2017 Giusi and Valter finally completed one of their dreams: renovating the terrace and creating "La Lucerna di Ferro", an overwater panoramic terrace accessible by boat where one can admire the beauty of this unique landscape all year round.