The Story Of… Caffe Florian in Venice

Exclusive Interview by Karen Beishuizen
All photos are courtesy of Caffe Florian

Caffe Florian is the oldest still operating establishment in the world. It opened on December 29th, 1720, under the name “Alla Venezia Trionfante” (Triumphant Venice). In 1773 the name was changed to Caffe Florian to honor its founder Floriano Francesconi. The caffe was the only one in 1776 to allow women inside. Lord Byron, Charles Dickens, Casanova and Goethe were frequent visitors. The Hall of the Illustrious men shows ten portraits by Giulio Carlini of great Venetian people who have contributed to making Venice historically important and famous throughout the world. A coffee sipped at Caffe Florian takes you on a journey through history, so if you are in Venice, do step inside and be part of it.

KB: Caffe Florian dates back to 1720. Tell me how it all started.

Set under the arcades of the Procuratie Nuove in St. Mark’s Square, Caffè Florian may rightfully claim to be one of the city’s symbols. It is the oldest Italian coffeehouse currently in operation and one of the oldest in the world. Opened on December 29th 1720 by Floriano Francesconi (inspirer of the character of Ridolfo in “La Bottega del Caffè” by Carlo Goldoni), with two modest rooms under the name “Alla Venezia Trionfante” (Triumphant Venice), after the death of the founder in 1773, the coffeehouse passed to the management of his nephew Valentino Francesconi, who changed the name of the place to Caffè Florian, in honour of his uncle (Florian is the dialectal version of the name Floriano).

Since the beginning, Caffè Florian soon became the most famous “botega da caffè” (coffeehouse) of the day: among its guests, Giacomo Casanova and Carlo Goldoni himself. And while the finest coffee and wine – from the Orient, Malvasia, Cyprus and Greece – along with rosolios were served, history unfolded outside the café’s stained-glass windows: the magnificent rise of the Republic of Venice and its fall, the surreptitious plotting of conspirators wishing to end the French and, later, Austrian rule, whereas the wounded from the 1848 uprising were treated inside its rooms.

KB: Caffe Florian was the only caffe which allowed women back in the day. Tell me the story.

In 1776, the Venetian governor banned all women from coffee shops due to morality issues. The ban was widely opposed by the baristas (owners of the coffee shops), as their bars were frequented by many married (and not married) couples with a subsequent fall in revenue. That’s why, Mr. Valentino Francesconi, the then owner of Caffè Florian, asked the city rulers for a dispensation to allow him to entertain ambassadors and their wives at the Florian. Thanks to the Café’s good reputation, he was granted permission for ladies to be received at the Florian.

KB: Lord Byron, Charles Dickens, Casanova and Goethe were frequent visitors. Who else visited the caffe over the years?

Since its opening, Caffè Florian has always been called home by the eminent and the notable. Venetian nobility would sit side by side with ambassadors, merchants, fortune hunters, men of letters and artists, but also the ordinary citizens of La Serenissima. The cozy rooms welcomed such personalities as Silvio Pellico, Nicolò Tommaseo and Daniele Manin – who, around the Caffè Florian tables, proclaimed their ideas on independence and freedom – Lord Byron, Ugo Foscolo, Goethe, Madame de Staël, Chateaubriand, Charles Dickens, Marcel Proust, Gabriele D’annunzio and Eleonora Duse, Rousseau, Rubinstein, Stravinsky, Modigliani and Campigli – to name only a few. The sculptor Antonio Canova found in Floriano Francesconi a true friend and benefactor. Canova repaid his kindness when he helped the Caffè owner, who suffered from gout, to buy new shoes: the sculptor carved a model of his friend’s foot to allow the shoemaker to take measurements without inflicting any pain.

Even today, you may find yourself sitting in one of the coffee house rooms next to stage or screen stars, or personalities from the world of art, culture, politics, and business. Some of the guests Caffè Florian welcomed in recent years: Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable, Omar Sharif, the Queen Mother Elisabeth and the then Price Charles, Grace Kelly, François Mitterand, Jacques Chirac, Sandro Pertini, Elton John, Katia Ricciarelli, Michelangelo Antonioni, Martin Scorsese, Oliver Stone, Mel Gibson, Nicholas Cage, Matt Damon, Bryan Adams, Joaquín Cortés, Catherine Deneuve, Billy Joel, Charlotte Gainsborough, Guillermo Del Toro, James Blunt, Jeff Bezos, Clint Eastwood, Jude Law, Salma Hayek, Christo Javašev, Giorgio Armani and many others. We have a historical book (more than one, actually), with their signatures, and many of our distinguished guests dedicated to Caffè Florian thoughts, poems and drawings.

KB: Hall of the Illustrious men. Tell me the story.

The name comes from the ten portraits by Giulio Carlini with of great Venetian people who have contributed to making Venice historically important and famous throughout the world: Marco Polo, Tiziano, Carlo Goldoni, Paolo Sarpi, Palladio, Francesco Morosini, Benedetto Marcello, Pietro Orseolo, Enrico Dandolo and Vettor Pisani. Those portraits alternate with imposing mirrors and decorated panels and their expressive faces observe us from the walls. On the ceiling a “Triumphant Venice”, a tribute to the first name of the Café, painted “a fresco” by Giuseppe Ponga. The Room of the Illustrious Men was originally a passageway connecting the Procuratie Nuove porch with the internal courtyard. Its “outdoor” nature can still be seen in the baseboard of Istrian white stone, not present in the other Rooms. Over the centuries, this room had been covered with a grey patina formed by the smoke from the gas lamps that lit it up and from the customers’ cigars. This Room was restored in 2012, when the walls and ceiling paintings and decorations finally re-emerged to their ancient splendor. In 2003, the Austrian artist Irene Andessner transformed this Hall in the Room of the Illustrious Women.

For her installation at Caffè Florian, this artist used photography as an instrument to portray some of the famous Venetian women of the past. She decided to re-interpret ten among the city’s most famous women. Andessner’s portrayals, taken during a specially arranged photo shoot, were the result of extensive historical and iconographic research. The large-size prints of the portraits were mounted on back-lit display panels for greater impact. Using a particular technique, the panel were then superimposed in transparency to the portraits of the ten famous Venetian men that hang in the room called “Sala degli Uomini Illustri” (Room of the Illustrious Men), thus creating a puzzle-like effect. The Venetian women from the history of the Serenissima portrayed by Irene Andessner are: Agnesina Morosini, Catarina Cornaro, Cecilia Venier-Baffo, Veronica Franco, Marietta Robusti, Moderata Fonte, Barbara Strozzi, Elena Lucrezia Cornaro-Piscopia, Elisabetta Querini.Valier and Rosalba Carriera. Caffè Florian often hosts visual arts exhibitions inside its Rooms, thanks to its link with the Venice Biennale. One evening of 1893, while seated at the marble tables in the Senate Room of Caffé Florian, Riccardo Selvatico and his artist friends came upon the idea of creating an art exhibition, an event that would later assume the name of the Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte Contemporanea, today the world renown Venice Biennale.

KB: I’m in Venice and walk into your Caffè. What do I see? Walk me through it.

Architectural history at Florian’s is fascinating. In the beginning, there were only two simply furnished rooms. By the mid-1700s, the Florian grew to include two new rooms. In the mid-1800s, the coffee house was sold by the Francesconi family to Vincenzo Porta, Giovanni Pardelli, and Pietro Baccanello. In 1858, the new owners commissioned architect Lodovico Cadorin of the the Venice Academy of Fine Arts to restore and redecorate the Caffè: two new halls were added, and all the rooms were given new names. Since then, the Florian has been keeping its prestigious ambiance and atmosphere unchanged. The Sala del Senato (Senate Room), the famous birthplace of the Venice Biennale, was decorated by painter Giacomo Casa who featured elements from the worlds of arts and sciences, optimistic images of all the coming century would bring.

The Sala Orientale (Oriental Room) and the Sala Cinese (Chinese Room), painted by Antonio Pascuti, are adorned with oriental motifs: a caprice of exotic-looking women and lovers. One of the coffee house’s rooms became known as the Sala degli Uomini Illustri (Room of the Illustrious Men), after the prominent Venetian figures portrayed in the medallion oil paintings by Giulio Carlini. The Sala delle Stagioni (Room of seasons) has been decorated by Cesare Rota, who depicted the four seasons as women. The Sala Liberty (Liberty Room) is elegantly decorated with an arched vault, wood wainscoting, and original hand-painted mirrors dating from the early 1900s (Art Nouveau style). In the warm season, March to October, Caffè Florian has also an outdoor terrace and the Venetian summers even more appealing thanks to our resident Orchestra. For over a hundred years, the members of Florian’s orchestra treasured a valued, large musical heritage and shared it with the public in the style of café-concert of Middle-Europe tradition.

KB: In which movies and series did the Caffè appear in?

Caffè Florian is quite a location, often chosen as a set for films commercials, as well.
Summertime 1955
The Talented Mr. Ripley 1999
Effie Gray 2014

In the last few years, both Italian and international productions set their filming at Caffè Florian, but as they have not yet been released in theatres, we cannot list them.

KB: How did the Caffè survive the Covid pandemic? A lot of places went out of business.

We all (and all means the whole world) have been through two very difficult and complicated years. Caffè Florian never closed, not even in wartime, it took a pandemic to force us to close to the public. While the staff was at home in layoffs (in this, the Italian government supported the companies), the property tried to hold on. When we finally reopened, not knowing the future ahead, we all agreed to work less, but work all and keep our jobs. The company has over 80 employees, most of us have been working for Florian for many years and couldn’t wait to get back to work and be able to pick up where we left off. Unfortunately, Florian’s 300th anniversary fell during the pandemic, and we were forced to call off all the events we were planning. But, even if we were unable to celebrate as we would have liked, we managed to “stay alive” and made Caffè Florian once again talked about: in collaboration with MISE (Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy) and Poste Italiane, on December 3rd, 2020, a celebratory stamp was issued belonging to the thematic series “The Excellences of the productive and economic system” dedicated to Caffè Florian and its 300 years of activity.

KB: Why should people visit Caffe Florian?

The Experience Economy is a book written by two US economists, by Joseph B. Pine and James H. Gilmore. In their essay they claim that the simple production of goods and services is not enough, but it is the experience offered to the guests that really contributes to create value. In the premise of their essay, they ask what the difference is between drinking a coffee in any usual bar and drinking it sitting at the Florian. And the answer is that the coffee at the bar makes me face my day with energy, but the coffee sipped at the Florian takes me on a journey through history. Florian is a brand, renowned worldwide for its unique, timeless style, for the silver trays food and drinks are served on, and for the waitstaff’s unmistakable livery. Quality, elegance, and refined Italian style are also the essence of Florian’s product lines Gourmet, Lifestyle, and Design – a favourite of our clientele.

“Europe is the most beautiful place in the world. Italy is the most beautiful part of Europe. Venice is the most beautiful city in Italy. Piazza San Marco is the most beautiful square in Venice. Caffè Florian is the most beautiful meeting place in the square. So, I drink my mocha in the most beautiful place in the world.” – Karl Hernold

Check out Caffe Florian’s website: HERE
Find Caffe Florian on Facebook: HERE
Find Caffe Florian on Instagram: HERE

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