Cafe Greco, also known as Antico Caffe Greco, is an amazing art coffee house that is located near the famous Spanish Steps in Rome. A cozy establishment, which guests managed to visit: Byron, Goethe, Balzac, Stendhal, Gogol, Hans Christian Anderson, Schopenhauer, Wagner, Keats and many other people of art, is located in a lively place - Via Via dei Condotti 86, in a shopping corner of Rome. Small tables arranged along the passage of the art gallery, fragrant coffee and unsurpassed Italian desserts are waiting for their fans.
Story
At the end of the 17th century. - early 18th century in France, Italy and Germany, establishments began to appear (“caffeaos”, “kaffeehaus”, “caffe-house”) - coffee houses, the main calling of which was to convey to the visitors the full depth and charm of such a drink as coffee. Cafes began to appear near train stations, markets, large squares and central streets, offering travelers a refreshing cup of aromatic drink.
It is known that the cafe Greco, located in Rome, has at least 2 centuries of history. The sign above the entrance to the establishment reads "1760 A.D.", and although there is no documentary evidence of this particular date, it is generally accepted that the coffee shop has exchanged 250th anniversary.
The Roman cafe got its unusual name by analogy with the already existing coffee house in Milan, which contained the Greek. In the notes of the philosopher Pietro Verri, Cafe Greco is mentioned as a place where he and his like-minded friends visited to drink excellent coffee, read a newspaper and, of course, chat. Verry notes that there were plenty of such companies connected by a common idea. Thus, the coffee house of the 18th century was the epicenter of cultural and political life in Rome.
Carlo Goldoni, a playwright and libretto master, lived in Rome very close to the Greco cafe. A passionate admirer of the famous coffee house, Goldoni portrayed this place in one of his works "Bottega del Caffe". The appearance of Greco, as it was in the 18th century, was perfectly preserved for us by the canvas of 1797, belonging to the brush of Mariana Dionigi. The artist and archaeologist, who revolved in the highest circles of Italian nobility, presented her work to the famous cafe. The picture can be seen in the walls of the institution today.
"German cafe"
In the 19th century, Greco Cafe was nicknamed "German Cafe" for a long time, and all this was due to the fact that German residents often began to visit Rome. German tourists went to the mountains, visited Naples, enjoyed the splendor of the capital. However, they invariably got into the habit of gathering “around 4 pm and after sunset,” as Brussels professor Friedrich Heinrich von der Hagen wrote. This was facilitated by the proximity of the hotel to the Germans, as well as the absence of restrictions on smoking. The tangible influence of German culture, which the cafe joyfully absorbed, turned it into a cosmopolitan place.
In 1818, the future monarch Ludwig I of Bovarsky (German: Ludwig I von Bayern) and his associates made the Greco cafe the unwritten headquarters for their meetings in Rome. But they were engaged in a very serious matter - they tried to carry out the Tefton reunion.
The German period was also reflected in the decoration of the coffee shop - 15 paintings and miniatures adorn its walls. Including the work of the Austrian artist Joseph Anton Koch (Joshep Anton Koch) and German Peter Cornelius (Peter Cornelius).
The clash of local Italian and imported German cultures, interspersed with talented messages from representatives of other European and Scandinavian countries, created a truly indescribable atmosphere. So, Pope Leo XIII (Leo XIII), often in his memoirs recalled the time spent in the walls of the cafe Greco during his student days.
Interior
Cafe Greco was immortalized many times, in prose, poetry, in music and on canvas. Pictures, miniatures and panels not only captured the coffee house for us as it was in the 18-19 centuries, but they perfectly convey the atmosphere of that time, depict the regulars of the institution. The most complete description of the interior of the coffee shop can be found in the book of the American artist James Edward Freeman (James Edward Freeman). Having lived in Rome for several years, Freeman managed to fall in love with the Italian capital and joyfully immersed himself in the cultural life of the eternal city. The cafe, in which outstanding and extraordinary personalities gathered every evening, received a whole section in the artist’s book.
Omnibus Hall
According to Freeman, the interior of the cafe resembles a card suit of clubs. The largest hall, the Omnibus, is 2 meters wide and 8 meters long. The translucent roof and small tables located along the walls are strikingly reminiscent of the salons of the first buses (omnibuses) that arose in Europe. The walls of the hall are decorated with landscapes of Polish and Italian masters. A series of oval medallions with portraits of famous guests of the institution - Wagner, Byron, Berlioz, Liszt and others, was strengthened under the ceiling.
The stucco depicting animals and mythological creatures decorating the hall during the time of Freeman was poorly visible due to puffs of tobacco smoke. However, current visitors will be able to admire it without any problems. A special mascot of the institution is a small wooden box, which for several centuries occupied an honorable place on the bar counter. This artifact is the mailbox in which visitors put their letters. Almost all the correspondence out of the box found its addressees, with the exception of a few letters that are stored there now.
Hall of Venice (Sala Venezia)
To decorate the interior of this room in 1837, the Venetian artist Ippolito Caffi was invited, panoramas with views of Venice and Rome came out from under his brush. However, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, wonderful paintings were hopelessly spoiled. The owners of the Greco cafe invited Vincenzo Giovannini, who was in Rome at that time, to restore the decor of the hall. The artist painted new types of Italian cities, largely focusing on lost canvases.
Hall of Rome (Sala Roma)
Hall Omnibus is separated by an arch from the next room - Hall Rome. The interior of this corner of the Greco cafe was designed by the landscape painter Vincenzo Giovannini in 1897. The owner of the establishment, Federico Gubinelli, asked the artist to depict the sights of Rome: the Arch of Titus, the Temple of Vesta, the Colosseum. The canvases that have reached the present allow you to plunge into the atmosphere of the Italian capital of the sample of the late 19th century.
Red Hall (Sala Rossa)
The next arch separates the Hall of Rome from the room with dark red walls - the Red Hall. Such a rich background serves as an excellent setting for paintings in the style of Impressionism, written in the tradition of the "Barbizon School". The most impressive are the canvases by Domenico Morrelli “The Boat of Life” (Domenico Morelli “La Barca della Vita”) and Garibaldino di Girolamo Induno “The Feeling of the Sublime” (Garibaldino di Girolamo Induno “Sentimento del Sublime”).
Russian trace: Gogol, Ivanov, Kiprensky, Bryullov
Olga Sergeyevna Pavlishcheva, Pushkin’s sister, claimed that the plot of “Dead Souls” was suggested to the Russian classic by her brother, Alexander Sergeyevich. For this reason, Gogol leaves for Italy. He believed that he could write about Russia, being only there.
- For inspiration, we recommend: Gogol's quotes about Rome
The writer's entire stay in Rome is between 1838 and 1842. The main interlocutors of the author were the artists: Ivanov, Kiprensky, Bryullov. They met many times in Greco, where many of his works are written. Remaining in the circle of friends, he spent hours dining in a cafe, where he liked to argue with Ivanov, who was his good friend.
In the very depths of the room, on one of the walls near a rectangular table made of marble, a small portrait of a classic by Svekdomsky was placed, and was installed on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the writer's death. A little further is a scribbled piece of paper.
Someone was able to accurately reproduce Gogol's handwriting by writing down an excerpt from his letter from Moscow to a good friend Pletnev: "... I can write about Russia only in Rome, where it appears to me in the whole community."
It is difficult to say how much money the author had while living in the capital. Especially considering his addiction to Greco. There is evidence that in the morning he drank coffee flavored with cream there. A small portion of the ice cream that Nikolai Vasilievich loved was worth 67 lire. Few allowed themselves such pleasure. On the basis of this, a rather entertaining version was born: living in Italy, Gogol performed the tasks of secret intelligence. Information obtained from foreign visitors at Greco was transmitted home. However, being exposed, he unexpectedly goes home, where he dies under dubious circumstances.
What to try
In a sense, Greco's cafe is conservative; on its menu you can find centuries-old varieties of coffee, tea and the aristocracy's delicacy - hot chocolate. Given that a coffee shop is also a private art collection open to the public, the prices on the menu are quite high.
Prices
As with most tourist destinations in Rome, the Greco Cafe has 2 prices per bar and “in a restaurant”. In addition to higher prices, when you sit down, be prepared for a service fee of 8 euros. And how much did you think it costs for a man in a top hat and tailcoat to beautifully serve you coffee and a dessert?
- We do not discourage, but simply warn: For example, 2 cappuccino (2 × 8 euros) + 2 orange juices (2 × 12 euros) + desserts (2 × 5) + service (2 × 8) = 66 euros - is it worth the pleasure of this money, everyone decides for himself.
Knight's move
But what if you want to be noted in such a noble place? Of course, like all the locals, we take coffee at the bar. Here and a cappuccino for 2 euros, which is also a little expensive for Rome, and there is no service charge. In total, the menu described above will get you a maximum of 6-8 euros per person.
How to get there
- Address: Via dei Condotti, 86
- Working hours: daily from 9:00 to 21:00
- Phone: +39066791700
- Metro: Line A (Spagna Station), then walk past Plaza de España (piazza di Spagna).
- By bus: 117 to the Trinita dei Monti stop and take the same walk as from the metro stop.
- Official site: www.anticocaffegreco.eu
