Video: Why the Italians in the 17th century invented "wine windows", and How the plague tradition has revived today
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
During this endless COVID-19 pandemic, all types of businesses are looking for different ways to continue providing their services while ensuring social distancing. Some entrepreneurs have shown miracles of creativity in this matter. Recently in Florence they even decided to revive the legendary tradition of those times when the plague was raging in Europe for this purpose. Thanks to this, a national Italian tradition that dates back to the 17th century has come to life!
Part of the unique Florentine architecture, the charming little wine windows are again used to serve wine, cocktails and other drinks to customers. The hand serving a glass of wine or other drink looks somewhat surreal. But this is a godsend for both clients and businessmen.
The history of the emergence of these wine showcases is very sad. These windows were first created in the 1500s, during the terrible epidemic of the bubonic plague. Winemakers served wine through these little display cases, realizing the problem of possible contamination. Nobody took money in hand. The client was served an iron tray on which he could place his coins. The seller disinfected them with vinegar and only then took them away.
Cosimo I Medici (Grand Duke of Tuscany) is considered the author of this brilliant idea. He decided that selling wine at such a dangerous time is a great way to make money without leaving your home and avoid paying taxes. The plague scared everyone to death, but profit was much more important!
Certain precautions were taken, of course. People outside the windows tried not to touch the wine flasks that were brought back. Typically the client would buy wine that was already bottled. The client could also fill the flask directly using a metal tube that went through the wine window and was connected to a wine barrel inside the palace.
Demijon is a narrow-necked container that holds gallons of liquid. They were used at that time. Historians say that the vintner would either refill new flasks for direct purchase, or set the container up slightly so that the wine would flow down a small metal tube into the client's bottle. Minimum contact, maximum safety. "Wine windows", the original name of which is "buchette del vinos", over time became simply an addition to the cultural landscape of the city. There is even a society called The Wine Windows Association whose purpose is to protect and promote them.
Today, during a period of isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, the owners of the wine display in Via dell'Isola delle Stinche at the Vivoli ice cream parlor in Florence reactivated their window. Through it, they sell coffee and ice cream, but not wine. Two other wine windows located nearby, at Osteria delle Brache in Piazza Peruzzi and Babae in Piazza Santo Spirito, take us back in time. They are used in accordance with their original purpose - they sell wines there.
Today's wine windows are cataloged by the Matteo Falla Association, which now numbers over 150. These wine windows are an interesting historical landmark that is unique. Many wine windows were removed, others were damaged during the floods in 1966. The laws of the 20th century on the sale of wines made them unnecessary. But now the rest are very useful!
One member of The Wine Windows Association, Mary Forrest, says what inspired the creation of such a society: “Matteo Falla and Diletta Corsini have photographed wine windows for several years, and in 2015 decided to create an organization to protect and promote them. Since wine windows are hundreds of years old (most of them date back to 1500 and 1600), we want to keep them wherever possible. Many were lost, closed or destroyed. We are also doing research to find out more about their use. We also catalog them. Before the establishment of the Association, no one knew how many there were in Florence or other Tuscan cities. Only four or five windows are currently used by restaurants that have them. However, there are much more than 150 of them in the center of Florence, as well as in the neighboring cities of Tuscany."
“The restaurateurs who have revived their use are to be congratulated for using their imagination and originality in reviving this old tradition,” added Mary Forrest. "Wine windows are a unique architectural feature of Tuscany and must-see when you are in Florence."
And, despite the excellent reputation of Florence, there are vandals here too. They manage to spoil these unique memos. The wine windows are protected, and Falla erects memorial plaques for this purpose. He says people tend to respect them more when they understand what it really is and what their story is."
The pandemic is certainly no good, but the resurgence of wine display cases has lifted Florence's spirits. A ray of light in the dark kingdom …
The coronavirus pandemic is far from the worst, much worse is the epidemic of political correctness that has swept our society today. Read our article on who and why proposes to reconsider the opinion that Jesus Christ was white.
Recommended:
10 words and phrases that are common today, invented by science fiction writers
Neologisms are new words, phrases or expressions that become commonplace. Since in the Russian language "borrowed" words are taken mainly from English, let us consider where they come from in this language. Every year in Russia alone, up to a million books are published, and many contain new words that after a while become part of everyday speech
What is the secret of the popularity of the small Dutchmen of the 17th century, whose paintings the Hermitage and the Louvre are proud of today
The Lesser Dutch did not paint for palaces and museums. Perhaps the artists of that time would have been surprised to learn that their works adorn the halls of the Hermitage and the Louvre. No, the works of Dutch painters of the seventeenth century - except perhaps Rembrandt and other creators of large, monumental canvases - were intended for small living rooms with modest furnishings, for houses where ordinary townspeople or peasants lived. Neither before nor after was art so much in demand by ordinary people, and the era itself is small
Why until the 17th century only men were engaged in knitting, and how women won the right to this craft
The origins of ancient handicrafts are lost in the depths of history long before our era. And now no one knows for certain who and when the first loop was tied. However, according to researchers, hand knitting was invented by men, and the Arabs were considered the most skilled craftsmen in ancient times, who 2000 years ago already knew how to create multicolored complex patterns on bone needles and possessed many knitting secrets
Why Miss Marple has no place in the modern world, and why books about her are so popular today
If other heroes of classic detective stories - take the same Sherlock Holmes - can be easily entered into modern realities, give the character the opportunity to live a new life in new works, then for some reason this trick does not work with Miss Marple, it exists only in the books of Agatha Christie. for some reason, it is impossible to reproduce such an old detective in the 21st century. And at the same time, the stories of this old maid's investigations have now and then been drawn by readers for generations. Why is the world
"Sharpshooter with an ace of diamonds": How an artist of the 17th century put down his passion for wine, women and games
This 17th century work was exhibited in a 1934 exhibition at the Paris Orangerie Museum under the title Artists of Reality in 17th Century France, and it is through this commemorative exhibition that 17th century French art was brought back to a prominent place and the Works of Georges de la Tour, about which almost forgotten by French art lovers, became popular again, and his works were in great demand after the exhibition. One of the greatest masterpieces of French art of the 17th century "Sharpie with the ace of diamonds