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Under the arcades of St. Mark's Square the Caffe Florian is located in marvellous position. The Caffe Florian is deemed to be the oldest cafe house of the western world. On the 29th of December, 1720 it was opened by Floriano Francesconi under the name "Venezia Trionfanto" and is therefore, in a manner of speaking, the "mother" of all cafe houses. During the old days the finest coffees and wines from East, Greece and Cyprus were served here. Since the opening the cafe is a meeting place of famous personalities. One of the best known was Giacomo Casanova, who met his rendezvous with women here and break the heart to them later. Gaspare Gozzi selected the Florian as one of few places where people could buy one of the first Italian newspapers. The list of the personalities which were seen in the Florian is long, Lord Byron, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Charles Dickens, Arthur Rubinstein, Igor Stravinsky belong to the most famous guests. |
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In 1895 the first international art exhibit took place in the Florian. During the second world war the cafe was opened to meet friends and to have conversations to each other. The history of the architecture is likewise fascinating; at the beginning the Cafe existed of only two simply veneered rooms. At the middle of 17th century the Cafe was extended by two rooms. To the actual appearance of Caffe Florian, there were some violent controversies in 1858.
Habitués begun to moan, after the rebuilding the Florian would not be any more the old one. Other protested against the prodigal plans and they meant it would already give enough palaces near by the Canale Grande. In spite of all protests the owners stuck to their intentions and founded the splendid rooms known still today: Sala degli Uomini Illustri (hall of the famous personalities) Here are the famous Venetians portraited: Carlo Goldini, Morosini, Titian, Marco Polo, Orseolo, Palladio, Marcello & Dandolo. Sala delle Stagioni ( room of the seasons and mirrors ) This room was styled by Porta and contains the restaurant. Sala Orientale ( Oriental room ) und Sala Cinese ( Chinese room ) are decorated with oriental motives, while the Sala del Senato ( Senate room ) is the birthplace of the famous "Venice biennial film festival". Within this room some elements of the art are shown. Sala Liberty ( (Liberty room ) is decorated elegantly with vaults of wood, wainscotings and hand-painted mirrors from the early 19th century. Today the Caffe Florian is the meeting place of the Venetians and guests from all over the world. After old tradition still cultural top arrangements take place here, like the biennial film festival and exhibits. Most works were issued at the Café, today belong to the private collection of the Florian and are lent to famous museums like the Centre Pompidou in Paris or the Guggenheim in New York. The music wasn't neglected too. During the warm season from April to October you can enjoy the "Venetian summer". At this period the Florian obliges leading "Cafe-Concert" musicians, which entertain with a repertoire from classical music, Pop and Evergreens. For me the Caffe Florian is the queen of all cafes, with a romantic view to the St. Mark's square with it's famous basilica...
Caffé Florian
www.caffeflorian.comPiazza San Marco 56, 30124 Venezia Tel.: +39-41-520 5641 info@caffeflorian.com |
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| Sala Cinese |
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| Sala Orientale |
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| Sala del Senato |
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