L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2016 www.italoamericano.org 13 L'Italo-Americano E ven if the passion for kava is common to most coun- tries in the world, with s o m e ( I a m l o o k i n g a t y o u , Finland) even consuming more of it per capita than Italy itself, the relationship we Italians have with our favourite beverage is the stuff of legend: always ready to criticise a less-than-heavenly brew, we will judge your host- ing capabilities on the basis of how good your coffee is, and no moment of relax is considered as such without one touching our lips. Coffee in Italy goes hand in hand with another word: café, or "bar" as we say. Thing is that what "bar" means in Italy is very much different from what it means in the US – and in most of the Anglo-saxon world, as a matter of fact – because, con- trarily to the US conception of it, an Italian "bar"'s world does not go around alcohol, but cof- fee. I am sure you are well aware o f h o w I t a l i a n " b a r s " w o r k : there is no need to bore you with s o m e t h i n g y o u a r e p r o b a b l y familiar with already. Let us just say that, to avoid issues, I will refer to Italian-style "bars" as "cafés" throughout the article, because confusion, alas, is a good read's worst enemy. The point is, have you ever wondered when and how cafés became a thing in Italy? Where they first opened and why? In fairness, I never did until a few months ago when, while reading a b o u t b e a u t i f u l P o m p e i i , I r e m e m b e r e d m y A n c i e n t History classes in university and the Roman world of thermopo- lia. W h a t a r e t h e y , y o u a s k ? Why, they are Italy's own first café-restaurants, of course. And the adventure of cafés in the country only gets better from there. Ancient Rome: when cafés served no coffee (but loads of food) The Romans were outstand- ingly modern in many things they did, including their habit, shared by a huge chunk of peo- ple all over the world today, to eat out when at work or while travelling. When Romans need- ed some grub on the go, they headed to a thermopolium: here they could buy hot food and drinks to consume either on the premises (some of them offered sitting space and even had inter- nal gardens with triclinia and t a b l e s ) o r o n t h e g o . Thermopolia usually opened directly on the street and were separated from it by a stone or brick counter, often decorated with marble insertions. Within it, large jar-like containers for food and amphorae for drink were encased. H e r e , t h e R o m a n s b o u g h t their honeyed wine along with s o m e l e n t i l s t e w a n d b r e a d , w h e n g o i n g h o m e f o r l u n c h proved too difficult or time con- suming: remind you of some- thing you do everyday on your lunch break, when you head to the café for coffee and sand- wich? I bet: it is very much the same thing. When cafés become mod- ern: enters coffee into the pic- ture C o f f e e w a s u n k n o w n t o European palates until the mid to late 16th century, when it e n t e r e d E u r o p e v i a i t s m o s t notorious commercial ports: one above all, that of Venice. In V e n i c e , c o f f e e h a d a r r i v e d already in the 1570s, when a botanist, Prospero Alfino, took a taste for it while visiting Egypt and decided to bring some back to enjoy in the luxurious tran- quillity of his home town, where he also introduced it as a medi- c i n e . I t d i d n o t t a k e l o n g t o Venetians to fall in love with the brew, though, even if the record o f o p e n i n g t h e f i r s t c a f é i n Europe – it was 1659 – does not belong to la Serenissima, but to another sea city and important port, Marseilles. Venice followed suit, accord- ing to sources, in 1683, when the f i r s t I t a l i a n c a f é o p e n e d i n Piazza San Marco. In typical Italian style, however, the date is contested and shrouded in mys- tery: some believe Venice had her very own café as early as 1615, many more settle on a later date, 1640, still antecedent to that officially recorded by the annals. Truth is that, even if it was not the first place to open one, Venice quickly became the city o f a h u n d r e d c a f é s : b y 1 7 6 3 there were 218 of them, includ- ing Caffé Florian, established in 1720, today the oldest café in the world still open. I t a l i a n c a f é s t h e n w e r e already very much what they are today: a place to enjoy a cup of coffee and good company. They were lively cultural and political hubs, the trendiest among them places to be "seen," just as their modern counterparts are. Interestingly enough Rome, t h e a g e l e s s b e a u t y t h a t h a d brought the very idea of cafés into the country with her ther- mopolia, welcomed the trend with more suspicion: coffee was known as an excitant and was not seen positively by the city's ruler, the Pope. Legend says it was pope Clement VIII, eventu- a l l y , t o c h a s e a w a y t h e l a s t remaining doubts becoming a fan of the brew himself. … And this is, indeed, how c a f é s e n t e r e d I t a l y a n d t o o k q u i c k h o l d o f h o w I t a l i a n s socialize, meet and spend their spare time: all while sipping a dark, small cup of fragrant, pip- ing hot, aromatic kava. Café Florian, established in 1720, is the oldest café in the world still open. Photo by jovannig Italy and coffee: a love story no one dares to question FRANCESCA BEZZONE LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE

• Cover