Can high-end Italian ceramics help change Americans' "spaghetti and meatballs" perception of Italian culture? Drs. Michael and Marianne Bonidie are finding out.

The Mt. Lebanon couple, both obstetrician-gynecologists, opened Molto Bella Ceramica in Shadyside last July. His sister, Susan Bonidie-Seman of Cranberry, manages the shop, which sells colorful plates, bowls, flower pots and other items made in the Deruta, Amalfi Coast and Tuscany regions of Italy.

Bonidie, a native of Bethel Park, said he and his wife became fascinated with Italian ceramics in 1997 on their honeymoon in Italy.

The couple is also involved with the Audia Caring Heritage Association, a charitable organization founded by Italian-Americans in Western Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia to help small towns in Italy's Calabria region, the birthplace of many of their ancestors. In 2002, the Bonidies helped deliver much-needed medical equipment to the town of San Giovanni di Fiore. Making ceramics a business gives them a reason to travel regularly to Italy with their two sons, ages 7 and 5.

"We want to have a need to travel to Italy with a frequency that allows our boys to develop a true sense of life there," he said. "I want my children to grow up with a true sense of being American first, but also having a strong sense of their Italianism."

Molto Bella Ceramica, 5529 Walnut St., can be reached at 412-682-1277 or www.mbceramica.com.