Sawdust-covered floors, a mural-sized rendition of the Tuscany countryside (painted by a local artist Jack Dunlea) and a blessed statue of St. Rocco tucked into a beehive-shaped, wood-burning brick oven set the stage at the North End’s rustic trattoria, Antico Forno. With Their successful 1993 flagship restaurant, Terramia, across the street, Carla Agrippino-Gomes took on a new challenge in 1996 of bringing dishes to Salem Street. Antico Forno – Italian for “old stove” – features brick-oven classics such as roasted chicken in a natural juices with garlic and herbs stuffed under crusted skin; pizza with artichoke hearts, imported Italian porcini mushrooms, and Campania buffalo mozzarella, finished with truffle oil; and linguini with clams, mussels, calamari and shrimp, sautéed in a plum tomato sauce and baked in parchment paper. Even the double-domed brick oven was custom-built by a native Neapolitan craftsman. Antico Forno is an inviting neighborhood trattoria that provides a truly authentic Neapolitan experience.