The once-popular Boccaccio Restaurant in Little Italy will be auctioned off a year after closing because the owner died. Chef and owner Giovanni Rigato opened the restaurant, located on Eastern Avenue, in 1992. Rigato, a native of Cavalese in the Italian Dolomites, was credited for bringing fine dining to the casual, spaghetti-oriented Little Italy. He named the restaurant after the 14th-century author Giovanni Boccaccio. Rigato died last year. The 9,000-square-foot building with a 20-car parking lot will be sold at 11 a.m. Feb. 17, according A.J. Billig & Co., which is running the auction. The restaurant also includes a seven-day-a-week liquor license.

- Andrea K. Walker