Antico Caffè Greco

You might stroll right past this place on Via dei Condotti.  Don’t.

Caffè Greco

Stop and have a coffee, or a cocktail, and soak in the history.  The name includes the word “Antico,” as in, antique — and it’s not an exaggeration. This place has been here since 1760, and it’s the oldest bar in Rome.

Caffè Greco in 1856, by Ludwig Passini

Caffè Greco is full of history, as well as art. A center for artists, writers, composers, and philosophers, it seems everyone has had a drink here over the centuries. Byron and Keats… Stendhal, Goethe, Nietzsche… Brahms, Liszt, Bizet, Wagner… Ingres, de Chirico, Canova… they all stopped here.  From across the pond came Buffalo Bill Cody (bringing with him cowboys and Native Americans in full regalia — there are some wonderful photos about this!) and Mark Twain.

A bust of Buffalo Bill Cody, in Caffè Greco.

 

And, a statue of Mark Twain

More recently, Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn (who lived in Rome when married to an Italian), and Elizabeth Taylor were here (Ms. Taylor probably needed a break after shopping at the Bulgari store nearby: Richard Burton once commented that “Bulgari” was the only word she knew in Italian).  Speaking of lovers, legend has it even Casanova stopped by.

On occasion, I come in here for a coffee and a pastry, standing at the bar — the Italian way to have breakfast.

The classic bar, where I sometimes get coffee in the morning, is busy during the day, deserted in the evening.

But tonight, we’re here for a pre-dinner drink (aperitivo).  It’s a very different feel in the evening, as the crowd at the bar is gone, and it’s quite peaceful.  A host — in tails! — showed us to a little table.

Now, that’s style!

Soon, our lovely cocktails and a pretty little stand of “complimentary” finger foods (tiny sandwiches, frittata, savory pastries, cured meat, olives and nuts) arrived.  Yes, it’s expensive (hence the quote marks). But it’s worth it because it’s all so very civilized (my highest possible compliment).

Our lovely aperitivo — note the distinctive orange-rimmed Caffè Greco china.

The bar has all these elegant little rooms, each packed with art.

The room where we enjoyed aperitivo at Caffè Greco.

 

One of the rooms between ours and Caffè Greco’s front.

 

Caffè Greco’s bar.

 

Every wall is chock full of art.

 

Besides paintings, lots of sculptures, busts, and reliefs as well

The renowned Italian painter Renato Guttuso produced a painting of Caffè Greco, a copy of which hangs there. It shows today’s patrons in the bar. Sitting right next to them, in grey, are the ghosts of those who once patronized the place, now long dead… but somehow also still here.

Guttuso’s painting of Caffè Greco.

That painting speaks volumes. As I often write in this blog, in Rome, the past is always present.