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Caffè Florian is a
coffee house A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...
situated in the
Procuratie Nuove The Procuratie (English: Procuracies) are three connected buildings along the perimeter of Saint Mark's Square in Venice, Italy. Two of the buildings, the Procuratie Vecchie (Old Procuracies) and the Procuratie Nuove (New Procuracies), were ...
of Piazza San Marco, Venice. It was established in 1720 and is the oldest coffee house in continuous operation in Italy, and one of the oldest in the world (the oldest being
Café Procope The Café Procope in the Rue de l'Ancienne Comédie is a café in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It was opened in 1686 by the Sicilian chef Procopio Cutò (also known by his Italian name Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli and his French name Fr ...
founded in Paris in 1686).


History

The Florian opened with two simply furnished rooms on 29 December 1720 as "Alla Venezia Trionfante" (Venice the Triumphant), but soon became known as Caffè Florian, after its original owner Floriano Francesconi. The Caffè was patronised in its early days by notable people including the playwright Carlo Goldoni,
Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tre ...
and
Casanova Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (, ; 2 April 1725 – 4 June 1798) was an Italian adventurer and author from the Republic of Venice. His autobiography, (''Story of My Life''), is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of information about the c ...
, who was no doubt attracted by the fact that Caffè Florian was the only coffee house that allowed women. Later
Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...
,
Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel ''In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous Eng ...
, and
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...
were frequent visitors. It was one of the few places where
Gasparo Gozzi Gasparo, count Gozzi (4 December 1713 – 26 December 1786) was a Venetian critic and dramatist. Life and works Gasparo Gozzi was the first of eleven children born to the Venetian Count Jacopo Antonio and Angela Tiepolo, who was also of noble fa ...
's early newspaper ''Gazzetta Veneta'' could be bought in the mid-18th century, and became a meeting place for people from different social classes. In 1750 the Florian expanded to four rooms. In 1773, Valentino Francesconi, the grandson of Floriano Francesconi, took over the business at the beginning of the 18th century. In 1796, in a European atmosphere characterized by the French Revolution, the Venetian State feared that the revolutionary ideas could spread also in Venice. The Florian, with its international clientele, had become a meeting place for many French Jacobins, so the State Inquisitors obliged Valentino Francesconi to close the café. When the French armies entered in Venice, in May 1797, Valentino Francesconi put down the double-obsolete "Venice Triumphant" sign outside the café and replaced it with one simply bearing the name of his uncle "Florian". In 1814, Valentino Francesconi passed the café on to his son Antonio. By 1858, the establishment had passed into the hands of Vincenzo Porta, Giovanni Pardelli, and Pietro Baccanello, and was in need of some restoration. Lodovico Cadorin was commissioned to carry out restoration work and redecorate the interiors. The new rooms were named "Sala del Senato" (Senate Room), "Sala Greca" (Greek Room), "Sala Cinese" (Chinese room) and "Sala Orientale" (Oriental Room). In the 19th century, the Florian played a role in the Italian Risorgimento because the "Senate Hall" was the meeting point for a group of Venetian patriots. This group had a key role in the Venetian Revolution of 1848, which would see Venice temporarily independent from Austria. During the convulsed hours of the Revolution, the Florian hosted the wounded patriots, becoming a temporary hospital. Other restorations occurred at the Florian in 1872 and 1891 when two other rooms were added to the café: la "Sala degli Uomini Illustri" (the Hall of the Illustrious Men) and the "Sala delle Stagioni" (the Hall of the Seasons). In 1920 another room was added: the Liberty Room.


Art

In 1858, the café was completely restored by Lodovico Cadorin because the rooms were not really restored since the 18th century. Cadorin created a great project of redecoration, calling the best artists and artisans available in Venice. The Sala del Senato (Senate Hall) was decorated by Giacomo Casa with the paintings “The Age of Enlightenment, or Progress” “Civilization educating the nations”, and eleven panels representing Arts ad Sciences. Casa inserted masonic symbols in the painting, allusion to Venice’s close connections with certain secret societies and illuminism. The Sala Cinese (Chinese Hall) and Sala Orientale (Oriental Hall) take their inspiration from the Far East with paintings of lovers and scantily clad exotic women painted by Antonio Pascuti. In 1872 another two great halls were added to the café; The Sala degli Uomini Illustri (Hall of the Illustrious Men) was decorated by Giulio Carlini with paintings of ten notable Venetians: Goldoni,
Marco Polo Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...
, Titian,
Francesco Morosini Francesco Morosini (26 February 1619 – 16 January 1694) was the Doge of Venice from 1688 to 1694, at the height of the Great Turkish War. He was one of the many Doges and generals produced by the noble Venetian family of Morosini.Encyclopæd ...
, Pietro Orseolo,
Andrea Palladio Andrea Palladio ( ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one of th ...
,
Benedetto Marcello Benedetto Giacomo Marcello (; 31 July or 1 August 1686 – 24 July 1739) was an Italian composer, writer, advocate, magistrate, and teacher. Life Born in Venice, Benedetto Marcello was a member of a noble family and in his compositions he is f ...
,
Paolo Sarpi Paolo Sarpi (14 August 1552 – 15 January 1623) was a Venetian historian, prelate, scientist, canon lawyer, and statesman active on behalf of the Venetian Republic during the period of its successful defiance of the papal interdict (1605–16 ...
,
Vettor Pisani Vettor Pisani (132413 August 1380) was a Venetian admiral. He was in command of the Venetian fleet in 1378 during the war against the Genoese, whom he defeated off Capo d'Anzio; subsequently he recaptured Cattaro, Sebenico and Arbe, which had ...
and
Enrico Dandolo Enrico Dandolo ( anglicised as Henry Dandolo and Latinized as Henricus Dandulus; c. 1107 – May/June 1205) was the Doge of Venice from 1192 until his death. He is remembered for his avowed piety, longevity, and shrewdness, and is known for his ...
. The Sala delle Stagioni (Hall of the Seasons) or ''Sala degli Specchi'' (Hall of Mirrors) was decorated by Vincenzo Rota with the figures of women representing the four seasons. File: Sala degli Uomini Illustri1.jpg File: Sala degli Uomini Illustri2.jpg File: Sala degli Uomini Illustri3.jpg File: Sala degli Uomini Illustri4.jpg File: Sala degli Uomini Illustri5.jpg File: Sala degli Uomini Illustri6.jpg File: Sala degli Uomini Illustri7.jpg File: Sala degli Uomini Illustri8.jpg File: Sala degli Uomini Illustri9.jpg File: Sala degli Uomini Illustri10.jpg In 1920, during the anniversary of the café foundation, it was added another room: The Sala Liberty. It is decorated in an art nouveau style with hand-painted mirrors and sumptuous wooden wainscoting. From 1893, at the prompting of Ricardo Selvatico who had been inspired while dining in the Senate Hall, the Florian became home to the ''Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Contemporanea'' (International Exhibition of Contemporary Art), an ever-changing display of work from the artists of the time, known today as the Venice Biennale.Reato, p. 50 Since 1988, the Florian has hosted a contemporary art exhibition that takes place every two years in conjunction with the Biennale. The "Temporanea, the art of possible at the Caffè Florian" invites artists to reinterpret the Florian’s halls with an installation. Among the artists who have exhibited there are Bruno Ceccobelli, Mimmo Rotella, Fabrizio Plessi, Gaetano Pesce,
Luca Buvoli The last universal common ancestor (LUCA) is the most recent population from which all organisms now living on Earth share common descent—the most recent common ancestor of all current life on Earth. This includes all cellular organisms; th ...
, Arcangelo, Irene Andessner, Fausto Gilberti, Botto&Bruno, Marco Tirelli, Pietro Ruffo, Omar Galliani and Qiu Zhijie.


Images

File:Insegna Caffè Florian.jpg, Caffè Florian Label File:Sala del Senato Caffè Florian.jpg, Sala del Senato (Senate Hall) File:Sala del Senato soffitto Caffè Florian.jpg, "Civilization educating the nations" by Giacomo Casa, ceiling of the Sala del Senato File:Sala Senato Caffè Florian.jpg, "Il The Age of Enlightenment, or The Progress" by Giacomo Casa, in the Sala del Senato File:Sala Cinese Caffè Florian.jpg, Sala Cinese (Chinese Hall) File:Sala Orientale Caffè Florian 1.jpg, Sala Orientale (Oriental Hall) File:Sala Orientale Caffè Florian.jpg, Sala Orientale (Oriental Hall) File:Sala Stagioni Caffè Florian.jpg, Sala delle Stagioni (Hall of the Seasons) File:Sala Uomini Illustri Caffè Florian.jpg, Sala degli Uomini Illustri (Hall of the Illustrious Men) File:Sala Liberty Caffè Florian.jpg, Sala Liberty


Branching out

In the early twenty-first century, Florian experimented with branching out of Venice and opened a location on Via del Parione in the centre of Florence.


See also

*


Notes


References

* * * *Pastor, Barbara, e Andrea Libralesso ''Sala degli uomini illustri. Ultimo restauro al Florian'', In ''"La sala degli uomini illustri", un restauro per Venezia''. Venice: Caffè Florian, 2012. *Reato, Danilo, "Il Caffè Florian". Venice: Filippi Editore, 1984. *De Laroche, Robert. Caffè Florian. Venice: Caffè Florian, 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Caffe Florian Tourist attractions in Venice 1720 establishments in the Republic of Venice Coffeehouses and cafés in Italy Piazza San Marco 1720 establishments in Italy