Florence Cafe History: Historic Coffeehouses of Florence

Florence cafe history is the story of a handful of grand coffeehouses where painters, poets and rebels shaped Italian culture. The Macchiaioli painters gathered at Caffè Michelangiolo in the mid-1800s, the literary magazines La Voce and Lacerba were argued over in the cafés of today’s Piazza della Repubblica, and Futurists famously traded insults (and punches) at Le Giubbe Rosse. Here is how those rooms became the city’s unofficial salons, and what Florentine coffee habits look like today.

Caffè Michelangiolo and the Macchiaioli

Long before Futurism, Florence had its own artistic revolution, and it started over coffee. In the 1850s and 1860s, a group of young painters met at Caffè Michelangiolo on what is now Via Cavour. They rejected the polished academic style of the time and painted with bold patches of light and color, or macchie. Critics mocked them as the Macchiaioli, and the name stuck.

Regulars included Telemaco Signorini, Giovanni Fattori and Serafino De Tivoli, with the critic and patron Diego Martelli as a key supporter. The café gave them what every new movement needs: a cheap, warm place to argue about ideas and plan exhibitions. The pattern repeated in Paris a decade later, when Manet’s circle met at a café in the Batignolles.

The Florence cafe trio of Piazza della Repubblica

In the late 19th century, Florence cleared its old market district and built a grand square, today’s Piazza della Repubblica. Three historic cafés ended up facing it, and together they hosted much of Florence’s 20th-century cultural life.

Caffè Gilli

Gilli traces its roots to 1733, when a Swiss family opened a pastry shop in Florence. It moved more than once and settled on the piazza in the 1920s, where its Belle Époque interior made it a favorite of artists, intellectuals and visiting celebrities. It is often described as the city’s oldest café.

Paszkowski

Paszkowski opened in 1846 as Caffè Centrale and was taken over in the early 1900s by the Paszkowski family, who turned it into a Viennese-style beer hall. It became a meeting place for writers tied to the magazines La Voce, founded in 1908 by Giuseppe Prezzolini, and Lacerba. After World War II, poets associated with Hermeticism made it one of their haunts. It was declared a national monument in 1991.

Le Giubbe Rosse

Le Giubbe Rosse began in the late 1800s as a beer hall run by two German-born brothers named Reininghaus. Florentines nicknamed it after the red jackets (giubbe rosse) worn by its waiters, in the Viennese style, and the nickname became the name. It went on to become the most famous literary café in the city.

Futurists, fistfights and literary magazines

Futurism was launched by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti in 1909 and centered on Milan, celebrating speed, machines and the modern city. Florence’s writers and artists were skeptical at first. Ardengo Soffici, a painter and critic close to La Voce, wrote a harsh review of a Futurist show. The Milanese Futurists responded by traveling to Florence, and the confrontation ended in a notorious brawl at Le Giubbe Rosse.

The feud did not last. Within a few years, Soffici and Giovanni Papini had moved closer to the Futurists and launched Lacerba in 1913, a lively magazine that published Futurist texts. Le Giubbe Rosse became known as Florence’s Futurist headquarters.

The café’s literary life continued after the Futurist years. Up to World War II, poet Eugenio Montale was a regular, alongside other writers linked to Hermeticism and young Florentine painters. During the Fascist era, the café is also remembered as a discreet meeting point for people who opposed the regime.

Florence historic cafés at a glance

Why cafés incubated Italian movements

The Florentine cafés were not unique. Venice had Caffè Florian, Rome had the Antico Caffè Greco, and Padua had the open-all-hours Caffè Pedrocchi. But a few things made cafés especially fertile for new ideas:

• They were neutral ground. Artists, critics, editors and patrons could meet without formal introductions.
• They were cheap. A coffee bought a seat for hours, which mattered to young painters and poets with little money.
• They were public. Arguments were overheard, repeated and printed. Magazines like La Voce and Lacerba often continued debates that started at a café table.
• They had regulars. Knowing you would find your circle at the same table every evening turned a café into a club.

Florentine coffee habits today

Most Florentines today drink coffee the way Italians do everywhere: quickly, often standing, at a neighborhood bar. But a few local touches give the city its own flavor.

• The historic café as a treat. Locals usually take their everyday espresso at a simple bar and save the grand cafés for special occasions, celebrations or visiting friends.
• Pastry with coffee. Breakfast is sweet and small, and Florence’s pastry shops are proud of their local specialties, such as the budino di riso, a little rice-pudding tart.
• Hot chocolate in winter. Thanks to chocolatiers such as Rivoire, thick hot chocolate is a Florentine cold-weather ritual alongside coffee.
• The afternoon pause. A late-afternoon espresso, often with a small sweet, breaks up the working day.

For the rules of ordering at an Italian bar, see our guide to Italian coffee rules.

Florence Cafe FAQ

What is the oldest café in Florence?

Caffè Gilli is usually described as Florence’s oldest historic café. It traces its origins to a pastry shop opened by a Swiss family in 1733, though it moved several times before settling on Piazza della Repubblica in the 1920s.

Which Florence café was linked to the Futurists?

Le Giubbe Rosse on Piazza della Repubblica is the café most closely tied to Futurism in Florence. It was the scene of a famous brawl between Milanese Futurists and Florentine writers, and later a meeting place for the circle around the magazine Lacerba.

Who were the Macchiaioli?

The Macchiaioli were 19th-century Tuscan painters who used bold patches of light and color instead of smooth academic finish. They met at Caffè Michelangiolo in Florence, and their members included Giovanni Fattori and Telemaco Signorini.

Why is it called Giubbe Rosse?

The name means “red jackets” and refers to the uniforms worn by the waiters. Florentines used it as a nickname for the German-run beer hall, and it eventually became the official name.

Bring the Florence cafe mood home

You can recreate a Florentine café pause with a strong espresso, a small pastry and a good conversation. Our dark, intense Italian Roast makes a classic short coffee, and the 6 Bean Blend is a rich, full-bodied espresso that loves milk. Prefer an evening cup? Try our Decaf Espresso. Every Feel Espresso order is roasted 1–5 days before delivery.