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1
Preheat the oven to 160 °C. Into a cold terracotta tizza — wide, low-sided, unheated — lay the jointed rabbit pieces in a single layer. Add the olive oil, crushed tomatoes, white wine, celery, capers, olives, and garlic. No browning takes place; the cold-start is the Ischitan method. The pieces should be largely submerged in the liquid. The dish is ready to proceed when all components are arranged and the tizza goes into the oven cold.
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2
Cover the tizza tightly — with its own lid or with foil crimped to the rim — and braise at 160 °C for 1 hour 30 minutes. This is the stage that decides the dish: wild rabbit's tight muscle fibre requires the full time at this gentle, even heat; the terracotta's slow diffusion caramelises the exposed edges while keeping the centre moist. The braise is done when the rabbit yields completely to a skewer with no resistance and the exposed edges of the tizza show a dark, concentrated ring.
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3
Remove the cover. Return the tizza to the oven, uncovered, for a further 30 minutes. During this stage maximum surface evaporation concentrates the sauce to the correct consistency. The braise is ready when the sauce coats a spoon and the surface is no longer watery — a sheen of olive oil is visible and the tomato solids have collapsed into the liquid.
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4
Remove the tizza from the oven. Tear the basil leaves directly over the surface. Allow to rest, uncovered, for 2 minutes only — the basil wilts in the residual heat but does not cook. The correct result is a fresh, green fragrance rising from the dish rather than the medicinal note of overcooked herb.