Buchetta del vino: in Florence, wine has been served through the window since the Renaissance

Imagine the scene. You are walking down a small street in Florence, between two Renaissance palaces. On a stone facade, at eye level, you spot a tiny wooden door, barely larger than a bottle.

You knock. The door opens. A hand appears and hands you a glass of wine.

No, you haven't discovered a secret passage to an underground cellar. You have simply encountered a buchetta del vino, one of those famous Florentine wine windows that English speakers call wine windows.

If you find the idea amusing, wait until you discover its history: these small windows have survived five centuries, a plague epidemic, and even the Covid-19 pandemic.

The buchette del vino, or the art of selling wine through a wall

In Florence, buchette del vino have been part of the urban landscape since the Renaissance.

The principle is disarmingly simple: a small opening cut into the wall of a palace allows wine to be sold directly to passersby, without letting them enter the building.

Most of these windows are framed in stone, with a small arch and a wooden shutter. Some are so discreet that you could pass by without noticing them. Others still bear inscriptions reminding people of their former opening hours.

At the time, people didn't necessarily come to get a glass to enjoy on the spot. They brought their own container, which they had filled with wine before leaving.

A kind of takeaway, 16th-century style. With, admittedly, a little more charm than a fast-food counter.

When the great Florentine families started selling their wine from the window

To understand where these small openings come from, we have to go back to Medici Florence.

From the 16th century onwards, great Florentine families owned both magnificent palaces in the city and agricultural estates in the Tuscan countryside. Among their products were olive oil, cereals, and, of course, wine.

However, rather than systematically entrusting their production to intermediaries, some owners preferred to sell their wine directly from their Florentine residence.

Buchette del vino thus became small points of sale built into the walls of the palaces. A practice encouraged by the commercial and tax conditions of the time.

Among them, you will find names that are still familiar to wine lovers, such as the Antinori and Frescobaldi families.

Behind these small windows, part of the history of Italian wines is already taking shape: that of families, estates, and traditions that span generations.

And for the Florentines of the time, there was no need to travel for miles to stock up. Sometimes, a few steps and a few coins were enough.

In 1630, a small window became a rather ingenious idea

This is probably the most surprising episode in this story.

In 1630, the plague struck Florence. Residents sought to limit contact, and the buchette del vino, previously mainly useful for trade, took on a completely different dimension.

For selling wine without letting customers inside, it was hard to imagine a more appropriate device than an opening just large enough to pass a container through.

A 17th-century account by Francesco Rondinelli even describes some of the precautions taken by the sellers. The wine could be poured without touching the customer's container. As for the coins, they were collected in a bowl and then dipped in vinegar, which was believed to have disinfectant properties.

Wine served from a distance, disinfected coins, and no customers in the shop.

Doesn't that sound familiar?

Of course, the medical knowledge of the time was very different from ours. But the parallel with modern health measures is quite striking.

For even in the midst of an epidemic, the wine trade continued. The buchette allowed the Florentines to stock up without entering the palaces, while the wine still came from the vineyards in the surrounding countryside. A small window into a tradition that still makes up the reputation of Tuscan wines today.

And that was not the last time these windows would prove useful.

Four centuries later, the wine windows are back in service

Let's move on to 2020.

Italy is going through the Covid-19 pandemic. Restaurants and bars have to adapt their business, and a few Florentine establishments have an idea: why not reopen these old wine windows?

Wine windows suddenly find their original function again, or nearly so.

In Florence, some shopkeepers have started serving glasses of wine directly through the small openings in their facades. Others are passing cocktails, coffees, and even ice cream through them.

One of the best known is that of Babae, in the Santo Spirito neighborhood, which had already reopened its window before the pandemic.

The scene has something irresistible about it: centuries after their appearance, the Florentines are rediscovering a familiar gesture of their ancestors.

The funniest thing is that these windows, long unnoticed, are now being photographed by visitors from around the world.

As you can see, an old wooden door can sometimes have an unexpected second career.

Where can you see the buchette del vino in Florence?

Good news: there is no need to push open the door of a museum to discover these curiosities.

You just need to walk around the historic center of Florence, keeping an eye on the facades of the old palaces.

You can find them notably in the Santo Spirito neighborhood, around via del Trebbio, and also on the facade of the Palazzo Antinori.

Of course, not all are still in service. Many have been walled up, converted, or simply preserved as architectural elements.

Several hundred historic windows have been identified in Tuscany, with many in Florence and its surroundings.

The cultural association Buchette del Vino is also working to catalog them and preserve this rather unique heritage. Its website offers information and resources to help you search for them.

As you walk around Florence in search of a buchetta del vino, it is hard to forget that the city is located at the gates of the Chianti, one of Italy's most famous vineyards. A good excuse to extend your walk into the Tuscan hills, this time to visit the estates.

And if you are lucky enough to come across a window that is still open, why not try it? Drinking a glass of wine served through a Renaissance wall is an activity that is a nice change from visiting monuments.

Five centuries later, Florence still has a great sense of wine

The buchetta del vino ultimately tells much more than just an architectural anecdote.

It speaks of the place of wine in Florentine society, the ingenuity of shopkeepers, and the ability of certain traditions to span centuries without losing their appeal.

There is something delightful about imagining that a 17th-century Florentine and a 21st-century visitor, separated by a few hundred years, could reach out through the same small opening to collect their wine.

On your next visit to Florence, between two churches, three palaces, and a plate of pasta, remember to look at the walls :  Your next glass of wine may be hiding there.