The great Pesaro-born composer Gioachino Rossini was a sophisticated gourmet. He had haute cuisine in his veins, together with music. He acquired his sophisticated tastes during his long stay in Paris, from 1824 to 1836, when he was the acclaimed director of the Théâtre Italien....
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text="The most family-run" font_container="tag:h2|text_align:center" use_theme_fonts="yes"][vc_column_text] Of the almost 240 historic establishments in the Association, almost 100 have been run by the same family for two or more generations. Here we see those with the longest lineages, in a list of great prestige that pays tribute...
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text="The warmest in war" font_container="tag:h2|text_align:center" use_theme_fonts="yes"][vc_column_text]During the Second World War, some members of the Agnelli family, the owners of the Fiat car company, spent the winter at the Hotel Tornabuoni Beacci in Florence and, in great secrecy, had a lorry-load of coal brought to...
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text="The most “original furnishings”" font_container="tag:h2|text_align:center" use_theme_fonts="yes"][vc_column_text]The first three floors of the Grande Albergo Ausonia & Hungaria on the Venice Lido are adorned with original Liberty-style furniture of 1905, created by master cabinetmaker Eugene Quarti of Milan, who exhibited some items at the Paris Salon...
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text="The first goliard" font_container="tag:h2|text_align:center" use_theme_fonts="yes"][vc_column_text]In 1820, there was a famous episode of goliardery at the Caffè dell’Ussero in Pisa, which was described by Ersilio Michel in Maestri e scolari dell’Università di Pisa nel Risorgimento nazionale (Sansoni, 1949). A certain Ricci, a student from Livorno,...