|
|
 |
Venice: a tour of its café lounges
|
"The café is a platonic academy; nothing is taught in this academy, but it teaches one how to be sociable and sceptical. One can chat, tell stories, but it is not possible to preach, make speeches or hold lessons". Liberal, tolerant, a lover of the pleasures of life as well as those of the spirit; the essence of Venice is contained in the words of the writer Claudio Magris, describing one of the city's most typical institutions, the café.
Venice's first encounter with the café dates back to the start of the seventeenth century, when the first sacks of coffee destined for the European market were unloaded in its port; but it was the English that were to set up the first tasting venues for the new drink in the late seventeenth century, known as coffee houses. Unlike London, which had already changed its preferences in favour of tea just a century later, the art of savouring coffee has never gone out of fashion in Venice. Quite the contrary: it has constructed a way of life, a society and an entire culture around the café.
Here is a tour of the cafés, the "public sitting rooms", where Venetians meet up with one another. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
AT THE SERENISSIMA'S TABLE |
|
|
The tour can start off from Caffé Florian, the oldest in Venice, bedecked in velvet, mirrors and gilt frames in the most exquisite rococo style.
Opened in 1720 in Piazza San Marco, in the heart of aristocratic Venice, it was not only frequented by the nobility but also the ordinary folk and was the only venue in which women were allowed to enter. For Casanova and Goldoni it was, for different reasons, an important observation point; amongst other things, it was to provide the setting for one of the most famous works by the Venetian comic playwright in La Bottega del Caffè. Hundreds of most excellent customers have pulled up a seat in the Florian, including Byron, Foscolo, Goethe and Proust; so much so that even today it is a destination for tourist from all over the world wanting to conjure up in its mirrors the reflections of the dames, knights and gallants that Pietro Longhi skilfully portrayed (1702-1785).
Many of this painter's works feature scenes of Venetian life, from washing and dressing to visits to the dressmaker and the doctor, from dances to family parties down to the coffee ritual, and are all housed in two of the city's museums: the Querini Stampalia and Ca' Rezzonico, on the Grand Canal. Ca' Rezzonico, in particular, is a splendid example of a Patrician residence, with frescoes by Tiepolo and Crosato, illuminated by Murano glass lamps and furnished with pieces by the best-known Venetian cabinet-maker of the times, Andrea Brustolon: today it is home to the Museum of the Venetian Eighteenth century.
Piazza San Marco finds two more historic venues: Caffè Lavena, much-loved by Venetians, and the Gran Caffè Quadri, inaugurated in 1775.
These bars have outdoor tables on the paved area of the square, and violins that alternate melodies with those of the orchestra in front of Caffè Florian. The top floor of the Quadri also has an enchanting room where it is possible to have lunch at prices that befit the outstanding location. The period furnishings have witnessed esteemed visitors of the likes of Stendhal, Balzac, Dumas and Wagner. |
|
|
|
|
|
Leaving behind the eighteenth century for times closer to our own, a short walk from Piazza San Marco takes us to what is Venice's most famous café today, Harry's Bar. Celebrated by Hemingway, who had a fixed table here when he was in town, it is a meeting point for chic Venetians and stars of international calibre. Visitors here try to outdo one another to demonstrate being on best terms with owner Arrigo Cipriani, born into a family that has made history in Venice's hotel and catering trade. It was Arrigo's father who opened Harry's in 1931; Giuseppe Cipriani was also the founder of the luxurious Hotel Cipriani on the island of Giudecca as well as Locanda Cipriani, another place much-loved by Hemingway on the delightful island of Torcello, just a short walk from the Santa Fosca baptistery, Venice's oldest monument.
Continuing along the Venetian "café route", one can also stop in at the art cafes that bloomed in the wake of those that opened inside museums abroad: aside from the Cipriani in Palazzo Grassi (open only for exhibitions), there is the Florian Arte Caffé, inside the Fondazione Querini Stampalia, in a part of the palazzo that was recently restored by Mario Botta (the architect behind the restoration of the "new" La Scala in Milan) overlooking a garden designed by Carlo Scarpa, the greatest Venetian architect and designer of the twentieth century.
Then there is the Peggy Guggenheim Museum Café, in the guest quarters of Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, home to the collection that belonged to Peggy Guggenheim: over 200 paintings and sculptures that represent every artistic movement of the twentieth century. It is the most famous modern art collection in town which, it should be said, also boasts another important art museum, Ca' Pesaro, along with a number of modern pavilions in the Biennial Gardens designed by great architects such as Hoffnann, Rietveld and Aalvar Alto.
Other venues worthy of note include Caffè Rosso in Campo Santa Margherita, a legendary venue for the Venetian intelligentsia, Novecento (Ponte di Rialto) in an enchanting position where one can listen to jazz, and Imagina Cafè (Ponte dei Pugni), a long-standing photographic gallery that has been turned into an appealing bar where customers can admire the works exposed whilst having a chat or drinking a spritz, the most typical aperitif in Venice, made with white wine, soda and a drop of liqueur. |
|
|
|
|
 Hotel Rialto
Address: Riva del Ferro/Ponte Rialto, 5149 Venice
Tel: +39.041.5238958
E-mail: info@rialtohotel.com
Prices: from 120 to160 Euros
An enchanting position, overlooking the Grand Canal. From here one has a vantage point of daily life, with the market and its colourful stalls. The hotel has 79 recently-restored rooms furnished with four-poster beds, a restaurant and a bar.
|
|
|
|
|
