A journey through fascinating facts for film history enthusiasts, presented in the order in which they were discovered. Some of the earliest outdoor film shots were shot at the Excelsior Palace Hotel in Rapallo for the film *Battesimo di nave* (1914), starring and directed by Gian Paolo Rosmino, a historic figure in Italian cinema. At the Caffè Ristorante La Loggia in Florence, in the summer of 1916, Arnoldo Ginna set the scene of the elderly gentleman being accosted by young Futurists (to symbolize the contrast between the traditionalist world and the dynamism of the new culture) in the now-untraceable film “Vita futurista,” conceived, among others, by the father of Futurism, Marinetti, and the painter Balla…
Ristorante Antica Locanda Mincio
The most Napoleonic
The Antica Locanda Mincio, in Valeggio sul Mincio, in the province of Verona, where Napoleon stayed in 1796 after driving the Austrians across the river.
The oldest in Italy
The Hotel Cavalletto e Doge Orseolo in Venice and the RIstorante Oste Scuro Finsterwirt in Bressanone, both dating from the 13th century, the Locanda del Cerriglio in Naples, dating from 1288, the Parkhotel Luna Mondshein in Bolzano, dating from 1320, and the Antica Locanda Mincio in Valeggio sul Mincio, dating from 1407, are Italy’s longest-standing historic establishments.
The Most “Unità d’Italia”
These are the establishments which, during the Risorgimento, witnessed episodes that led to the Unification of Italy. Brought to light by research for the 2011 edition of this Guide, which paid tribute to the 150th Anniversary of the Unification of Italy these stories have become part of the Association’s historical legacy.
At the Caffè Fiorio in Turin—a gathering place for staunch conservatives—on March 18, 1821, they attempted to persuade the court apothecary’s assistant to poison the medicine of Carlo Alberto of Savoy, who had just been appointed Regent and had promulgated the Constitution…