L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano ELIZABETH SALTHOUSE I f the walls of Venice's Caffé Florian could talk, they'd have some stories to tell! Casanova famously wooed his conquests here. Literary giants Lord Byron, Carlo Goldoni and Ernest Hem- ingway all supped the finest wines and exotic coffees at its tables. And its extravagantly mir- rored salons sadly watched the fall of the Venetian Republic, serving as a rallying point for proud Venetians while the Aus- trians took over in the 1800s. Let's stop for an espresso. From the first day it opened its doors in 1720 Caffè Florian was special. Not only was coffee's arrival in, and spread around, Europe inextricably intertwined with the city, but St Mark's Square was the site of Europe's earliest cof- fee shops, Florian's being one. The origins of coffee date back to the 10th century when its use was first documented. Leg- end tells how Kaldi, an Abyssin- ian goatherd, was the first to dis- cover coffee's stimulating properties around 850 AD when he noticed his flock jumping around and bleating loudly after chewing the Arabica plant's bright red berries. Trying them himself he noticed an invigorat- ing effect so stuffed his pockets and ran to a nearby monastery at Lake Tana, on the Blue Nile River. The monks declared the fruit to be the Devil's work (remem- ber this, we'll come back to it!) and threw them on the fire in dis- gust. But it wasn't long until the monastery filled with the deli- cious aroma of roasting coffee so characteristic of breakfast tables today and the beans were quickly retrieved. Fast-forward 700 years to 1585 and we have the first writ- ten reference to coffee in Europe. Where else could we be but Venice? Gianfrancesco Morosini, the ambassador to Constantino- ple, was writing to the Venetian Senate about a stimulating drink – the "wine of Arabia" – sweep- ing Egypt and the Middle East. European explorers to north- ern Africa had seen coffee infu- sions used for their medicinal properties as early as the 1300s. And wherever explorers go, mer- chants are sure to be close behind ready to bring the first bags of coffee back to Venice. At first coffee was just for the wealthy, with nobles paying roy- ally for the exciting new stimu- lant. But there was another rea- son that kept coffee from the masses. Many saw this eastern, apparently Islamic drink as sinful and anti-Christian. Once again coffee was dubbed the Devil's drink – 800 years after it was condemned in Ethiopia – but for- tunately Pope Clement VIII was a fan, liking the taste and aroma and announcing that it would be un-Christian to banish such an enjoyable brew. With the Pope on-board, cof- fee shops started springing up, with the first opening in Piazza San Marco in 1683. From there the unstoppable coffee phenome- non spread and spread. Coffee offered a sophisticat- ed, new experience. Patrons would come for company, con- versation and a cuppa and cafés quickly became the place to meet, attracting socialites, intel- lectuals, artists, writers and artists alongside ordinary folk. Caffè Florian opened its doors against this heady back- drop on December 29th 1720. The proprietor, Floriano Francesconi, named it Alla Venezia Trionfante, literally "To Triumphant Venice" but every- one just knew it as Florian's. The name stuck and Floriano wel- comed a glittering clientele from the start. One of the earliest frequenters was budding writer Carlo Goldoni, soon to become the most prominent Italian play- wright of the 18th century. Goldoni is known to have visited Florian café society regularly looking for inspiration for his plays. He often mentions the Venetian addiction to coffee and in his memoirs he explains that he introduced the gambling char- acter to his comedy "La Bottega del Caffè" (The Coffee House) to illustrate the true Venetian coffee shop culture. Coffee had become the epicentre of social life and Caffè Florian is indisputably La Bottega. Another leading patron was Giacomo Girolamo Casanova; astrologer, musician, spy and lady's man. Casanova's star natu- rally orbited around casinos, con- vents and coffee shops; anywhere there was good society, good conversation and women. And luckily for him Florian was the first caffè to allow females so its unsurprising that, on his return to Venice in early 1750, the first place he went, as his own mem- oirs confirm, was to Piazza San Marco for a coffee at his old hunting ground. He quickly resumed his amorous lifestyle, coming to the attention of the authorities, forcing him to leave the city, Florian and his ladies, once again until things calmed down! Floriano's grandson Valentino took over in 1773, running into difficulties when the authorities decided to ban women from cafés where card games were played. It was such a serious blow to busi- ness that Valentino applied for an exemption and got it, ensuring Florian's continued pull includ- ing, once again, Casanova, newly returned from exile. The next name of note was the visiting poet and traveller Johann Goethe. After spending 2 years travelling around Italy, Goethe reached the lagoon and Caffè Florian in 1786 writing "Venice can only be compared to itself." Local poet Antonio Lamberti went further in his 1802 descrip- tion, relating how Florian was a house of "people of all classes, ages and social conditions." Over the next few decades French writer Stendhal, Romantic poets Lord Byron, Percy Shelly and Thomas Moore all came to soak up the atmosphere and sup coffee. And author Alexandre Dumas wrote that Florian was like "a stock exchange, a theatre foyer, a reading room, a club and a writing desk" all rolled into one. Within four years, however, Florian was quite a different scene. The Austrians had been cir- cling Venice and in 1848 finally conquered it. Venetians were rightfully furious, gathering at Caffè Florian to plot their upris- ing. Those Venetians in favour of the Austrians also congregated in a coffee house, but they chose Caffè Quadri, on the opposite side of St Mark's Square, where the Austrians had located their headquarters. The conquerors tried to close Florian to quell the rebellion but they were too late and on March 17th the fight to reclaim the city began, with Flo- rian's acting as a field hospital for those wounded in conflict. Caffè Florian truly earned its place in Venetian history that day, and locals still see it as their own. As for the literary, musical and artistic giants who have crossed its threshold, we've only just scratched the surface. We've not even touched on composer Wagner who finished Tristan and Isolde there before dying in the city. Or poet D'Annunzio who wrote there when not in his fanta- sy home on Lake Garda. Or Stravinsky and Marcel Proust who were regular callers, too. In fact, since its opening in 1720, Caffè Florian has watched 300 years of history unfold both inside and out. Next time you visit, maybe you'll catch a glimpse of a budding writer hon- ing the script for her latest play or an amateur artist sketching the café culture as the orchestra plays and waiters in white scurry from table to table. Or perhaps it will be you making history as you sip your espresso. Only time will tell. Caffé Florian: If walls could talk, the stories they'd tell! Caffé Florian: once upon a time, home to Casanova and his conquests… … later to Lord Byron, Carlo Goldoni and Ernest Hemingway LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE

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