Corona Daily 361: Buchette del Vino

Florence, one of the world’s most charming cities, has successfully revived for the pandemic something created four centuries ago.

Northern and central Italy, including Florence, was ravaged by the bubonic plague between 1630 and 1633. It reportedly killed two million Italians, one third of its population then.  Wine merchants understood the plague’s gravity. They created Buchette del vino (little wine holes) to pass the flask to the client. Customers would place their coins on a metal pallet passed through the wine hole. Sellers disinfected the coins with vinegar before putting them away. When the plague was raging, the wine would be passed through a metal tube to the customer’s flask. People could knock on the little wooden shutters and have their bottles filled with wine from the Antinori, Frescobaldi and Ricasoli families. Some of these names are still around.

Even after the plague epidemic was over, the little wine holes served several functions. Traditionally, Italian aristocratic families had diversified businesses such as real estate or wine production. Behind the pintsize wine hole was a ground floor room that was connected to the cellar. The wine producer could sell directly to the consumer avoiding all middlemen, making the wine cheaper. For some merchants, it was a discreet way to avoid taxes. Anonymity was assured for both the customer and the seller. Occasionally, passing monks or beggars were given free wine as charity.

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The Buchettes were unique to Florence and Tuscany. Other than the functional use, the wine windows display renaissance-era architecture. Each window represents the taste and architectural style of the elite owner. Most windows are elegant, arch shaped, but each one is different. Some are encased by coloured stone frames, some made of bricks, others feature iron grates. In some cases, the holes are built straight into the mansion’s gates. An American photographer Robbin Gheesling has published a book “Wine doors of Florence”, exhibiting some lovely pictures.

Since it is Italy, the original hatches were created aesthetically. Usually made of wood, some had miniature paintings – still life or religious imagery. Functionality was primary, but cultural refinement was evident.

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Over the centuries, the wine windows gradually became defunct. Many wooden holes were permanently lost in the 1966 floods. In 2015, the Wine Windows Association was formed to preserve this singular heritage. The latest count on their website shows about 175 Buchettes in Florence and some 100 outside.

Once the Covid-19 pandemic began, and Italy was in particularly bad shape, enterprising Florentine wine window owners repeated the 16th century history. Babae bistro, with uncanny foresight, had started serving customers through the little window in the summer of 2019. Gelateria Vivoli, Florence’s famous ice cream parlour, started in May. Since then, several antigerm windows sell wine, Aperol spritzes, ice creams and sandwiches.  

While Covid-19 continues, it may be a good idea for other cities in the world to consider copying this renaissance-era invention. In times of epidemic, people will welcome a mechanism to buy booze safely.  

Ravi