Wine Windows of Florence: Overcoming Two Plagues

Babae's wine window gained recognition during a segment of Stanley Tucci's travel show "Searching for Italy."

By Uma Raja

Within the winding corridors of Florence, fragments of history are embedded in the walls. Some appear as lonely wood panels coated in graffiti, while others welcome smiling customers. The wine windows of Florence offer a glance into the struggles of Italy’s past—struggles that became relevant during the coronavirus pandemic of 2020. The wine windows also offer a unique experience for tourists and locals, turning the mundane interaction of a server delivering a beverage into a charming dining experience.

Modern Wine Windows

A wine window appears as a one or two foot tall stone archway in the middle of a wall. A small door in the center resembles the entrance of a storybook fairy’s home. While most doors remain plain, others are carefully adorned with religious iconography or a still life painting. Curious hands gently open the door and peer into a bustling restaurant or a quaint kitchen. A waiter is spoken to, coins clink and crumpled money is exchanged. A hand emerges with the item of choice—sparkling wine, an Aperol spritz, and at some restaurants, gelato or warm pastries.

Customers ring a bell to attract the attention of a bartender at Babae.

The city of Florence features over 100 wine windows. An official count has never been completed. The windows can be found scattered throughout Florence, be it steps from the Duomo or in the outskirts that circle the perimeter of the city. It is not uncommon to spot three different wine windows while wandering onto a random street. A trained eye would be surprised by how often unsuspecting tourists walk by these unique pieces of Florence history. As the flow of time pushes business in and out, most windows have been closed and abandoned, offering no use to shoe stores or study centers.

However, restaurants with open windows have capitalized on the opportunity to delight tourists in a simple and cost-effective way. A prime example is the restaurant Vivoli, known for its delicious gelato and for the large crowds that gather around its wine window. After the 1966 flood of Florence, Vivoli discovered a hidden wine window and had it cleaned and restored.

Vivoli was founded in 1929, but the wine window was not discovered until flood water washed away the stucco.

“I love that door because it’s different from the typical relationship between customer and owner,” said Valentina Gagicomi, a waitress who has worked at Vivoli for ten years. “We don’t charge an extra price for the door, it’s fun for us.”

A History of Plagues and Taxes

Wine windows served as a form of social distancing during outbreaks of the bubonic plague in northern Italy from 1629 to 1631. Over 9,000 people died in Florence, encompassing 12 percent of the population. Wine windows removed direct contact between customers and shopkeepers, allowing businesses to stay afloat during the economic hardship of the plague.

“Back in those days, people would knock on the door with the coins. The owner can hear the sound, recognize it was the coin, and then he could open a door and sell his glass of wine,” said Florence tour guide Dimentri Fanetti.

While the association with the plague is the most notable history of the wine windows, they were originally commissioned by noble families to reduce taxes. When Cosimo de' Medici became the Grand Duke of Tuscany in the 1500s, he passed a state law to please noble families by allowing them to sell flasks of wine directly from their house, cutting out the middleman for distribution. Nobles did not want strangers entering their homes, so they invented the buchette del vino, the “little wine doors.”

“Most of the wealthy families in Florence owned wineries outside of the city center, not far from the Chianti region. They used to sell their wine in the street,” Fanetti said.

The Plague of 2020

While some businesses displayed wine windows as historical decorations, only the restaurant Babae served customers out of an operational wine window in 2019.

However, the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 gave the windows a new life, harkening Florence back to the days of the plague almost 400 years ago. Italy experienced 25,842,595 cumulative cases of coronavirus and 190,242 deaths.

“People who died were cremated and never seen again by their families,” said University of Florence student Daniele Rossi. “My friend lost his grandmother, I will never forget when the ambulance took her to the hospital. I saw the situation out of my window.”

Vivoli closed on March 8 of 2020. After a strict two-month lockdown of the country, Gagicomi and other Vivoli staff members were able to return to work. Florence faced another series of lockdowns during November.

According to Rossi, police and military officials would regularly check people for permits to be outside from March to June. Italians were not allowed to leave municipalities unless strictly necessary.

“I could only go out to throw the garbage and do shopping to buy bread, butter and pasta,” Rossi said.

Vivoli opened the wine window in April of 2020, with fourth-generation owner Giulia Vivoli selling takeaway food and wine through the slit. As Florence relies on tourism for its economy, business owners struggled to keep their livelihoods afloat during the series of intense lockdowns.

In March 2021, Italy began to loosen coronavirus restrictions. The wine windows slowly shifted from a safety precaution to a lighthearted tourist attraction.

Wine windows can be found throughout Tuscany in cities such as Pisa. However, Florence remains iconic for its vast number of wine windows.

Florence’s wine windows connect citizens to the hardships the city has overcome. Residents do not have to imagine the terror people felt in the 1600s, grabbing provisions through a small window and praying that their loved ones remain healthy. The wine windows are a reminder of those who came before us, a story carved into the walls of a historic city. Be it 1629 or 2020, the windows serve as a symbol of adaptation and resilience.