The most attentive observers would certainly have noticed them while walking through the streets of Florence. These little holes carved into the walls of some noble buildings are the wine windows which starting from the 17th century were used by wine growers to sell the traditional flasks of wine. Above some of them, you can still see the name of the wine cellar and its opening times. There are about 160 in the historic centre. The most preserved and ornate among these is in Via del Giglio 2. It is carved into the facade of Palazzo Bartolini Salimbeni Vivai and has a stone frame which makes it look like the doorway of a miniature Renaissance palace.

Many of them were used until the 1950s, but today they remain a distant memory of the past. Some have been turned into elegant post boxes, ornate door bells or small tabernacles, while others are very much in use with serving glasses of wine, cocktails and ice creams. But do not worry if you find the little wooden doors closed, you only need to ring the bell or knock and you will be served.

WINE WINDOWS STILL IN OPERATION

You can get for example a delicious bowl of home-made ice cream from Vivoli, the oldest ice cream parlour in Florence located in Via Isola delle Stinche 7r; a glass of Chianti from Il Latini, a restaurant and wine bar located in Via dei Palchetti 6r or from Buca Lapi, one of the historic cellar restaurants in Florence (restaurants located in the cellars of ancient buildings) in Via del Trebbio 1r; or perhaps a spritz from Babae in Oltrarno in Via Santo Spirito 21r or from the Osteria belle donne in Via delle Belle Donne 16r, whose wine window still retains its original wooden door with a frame in blue-grey sandstone, similar to another small wine window found in the same street which shows the opening times of the cellar of that period with also lots of information on seasonal times.