L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 8 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2022 L'Italo-Americano I n Italy, you don't find only nice stores, you f i n d v e r y o l d o n e s , too. Mind, trade and c o m m e r c e h a v e a long history everywhere in the world, but there aren't many places where you can find ateliers, restaurants, or cafés operating for more than - or the best part of - a centu- ry (although I am sure that there are a store or two in London or Paris that would give some of the entries in this article a run for their money!). The difference, perhaps, lies in how, here in Italy, we have several associations that gather together and protect the integrity of historical stores, restaurants, cafés and businesses, both at a n a t i o n a l a n d l o c a l l e v e l . Among them, we can men- tion the Locali Storici d'I- t a l i a , t h e A s s o c i a z i o n e Negozi Storici di Eccellenza di Roma, the Associazione Esercizi Storici e Tradizion- ali Fiorentini, or the Registro delle Imprese Storiche Ital- iane, put together by Italy's Chamber of Commerce. The Locali Storici d'Italia, in par- ticular, created an excellent guide and a website to lead the curious tourist to some true national treasures, sym- bols of the solidity trade can have, when based on quality and commitment. For instance, Manuela Soressi, an author for the popular culinary magazine Sale&Pepe, wrote that Italy holds the Guinness record for the oldest commercial activi- ty still in business: Enoteca a l B r i n d i s i , i n F e r r a r a (Emilia-Romagna) opened, according to sources, in 1100! Apparently, it began business during the construction of the city's cathedral to offer refreshments to those work- ing on the site. Throughout its history, Soressi continues, the enoteca has had a long l i s t o f f a m o u s c u s t o m e r s , i n c l u d i n g p o e t s T o r q u a t o Tasso and Ludovico Ariosto, a n d a s t r o n o m e r N i c o l a u s Copernicus. Not bad at all! In the same article, we learn that Italy is also home to the longest-established hotel still in activity, the Hotel C a v a l l e t t o i n V e n i c e , w h e r e t r a v e l e r s t o t h e S e r e n i s s i m a h a v e b e e n relaxing and resting since the 13th century. Moving on to stores, we should certainly mention the Confetteria Romanengo in Genoa, which has been s e r v i n g t h e c i t y w i t h i t s sweet delicacies since 1780. Among its most famous esti- m a t o r s i c o n i c c o m p o s e r Giuseppe Verdi and the King of Italy Umberto I of Savoia who, when still a prince in 1857, demanded Romanen- g o ' s c a n d i e d f r u i t f o r h i s wedding reception. Inciden- tally, Umberto was the hus- b a n d o f M a r g h e r i t a d i S a v o i a , t h e r o y a l m u s e behind the creation of the eponymous pizza. In more recent years, Genoese song- writer and poet Fabrizio De André mentioned Romanen- go in one of his songs… A popularity that just doesn't fade! If you are in the South and have a sweet tooth, as well as a passion for history, you should visit the Ciocco- l a t e r i a G a y O d i n i n Naples, a true example of "fusion" chocolate-making, if you think it was opened at the end of the 19th century by Isidoro Odin, a Piedmon- tese confectioner of Swiss descent, and his wife Onori- n a G a y . T h r o u g h i t s l o n g history, the cioccolateria had some very important c u s t o m e r s , i n c l u d i n g t h e g r e a t O s c a r W i l d e , w h o s p e n t t i m e i n N a p l e s towards the end of his life, and Eduardo De Filippo, a true icon of Neapolitan the- ater. Thanks to its history and its Liberty-style interi- ors dating from 1922, the C i o c c o l a t e r i a G a y O d i n became officially a National Patrimony in 1993. From chocolate to cakes and bread: in Bari, the Pan- i f i c i o F i o r e h a s b e e n offering delicious bread, piz- zas and focaccias to locals and tourists for more than a century. Its location, just a s t o n e ' s t h r o w f r o m t h e Basilica di San Nicola, in Bari's città vecchia, the his- torical city center, makes it a perfect place to stop for a s l i c e o f s t r e e t f o o d w h i l e sightseeing. Emilia-Romagna, we all know it, is the place for filled pasta and salumi, so it's not surprising at all that one of Italy's oldest delicatessens o p e n e d i n i t s c a p i t a l , Bologna, exactly 90 years ago. Tamburini has been o f f e r i n g f r e s h t o r t e l l i n i , tortelli, mortadella, salami and more since 1932. In Tus- c a n y , m o r e p r e c i s e l y i n G r e v e d i C h i a n t i , n o t f a r from Florence, we find the A n t i c a M a c e l l e r i a Falorni a butcher's with m o r e t h a n t w o h u n d r e d years of activity on its shoul- ders. Here, you can find tra- ditional Tuscan cold cuts, l i k e s a l a m e d i c i n g h i a l e (wild boar salami), finoc- chiona di Cinta or the finoc- chiata di Montefioralle. All products and meats sold in the macelleria come from the Falorni family's farm. Her e, ever ything is 100% local and sustainable. Even when we move away from food, we can find his- torical places to visit and buy from. The Antica Farma- cia Sant'Anna, managed by the friars of the homony- mous convent, has been sell- ing homemade herbal reme- dies since the 1600s. Our subscribers may remember a lovely interview we made with Frate Ezio, the head herbalist at the pharmacy, just a couple of years ago. We are in Italy, so how could we finish this article without mentioning fashion and its capital, Milan? Here, Ditta Guenzati has been selling luxury fabrics and c l o t h e s s i n c e 1 7 6 8 . T h e Guenzati family's aim had been, since the very begin- n i n g , t h a t o f a t t r a c t i n g a refined - and wealthy - clien- tele, largely represented by the up-and-coming Milanese bourgeoisie of the 18th cen- tury. Since the 1960s, Ditta Guenzani became synony- mous with "British Style" fashion: if you're looking for something you can sport at high tea with King Charles, rest assured you'll find it here! The historical Romanengo confectionery store in Genoa, founded in 1780 (Photo: David Pillow/Dreamstime) Antica Macelleria Falorni, in the village of Greve in Chianti (Photo: Factotumvideo/Dreamstime) W h e n s h o p p i n g a n d e a t i n g b e c o m e history: Italy's oldest stores FRANCESCA BEZZONE LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE

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