There are those who call them little holes, some tabernacles and some doors to paradise. The wine windows have won over tourists and they are today a symbol and an icon for those who come to visit Florence.
In 2024, there are thousands of social videos of many people knocking on little holes to get a glass of Tuscan wine (but not only) to sip in the streets of the city.
History
The history of these small doors dates back hundreds of years. Used to sell wine in flasks in the 17th centurywith the arrival of the plague, they multiplied visibly.
They were obtained by making a small opening in the facades of noble palaces. Coincidentally, these came back into fashion in another difficult historical period, which alarmed the whole world.
It was Covid that brought this ancient tradition back to lifeas the holes are an excellent tool to avoid contagion.
What makes them special is that they are uniqueit is in fact not possible to find originals anywhere else in the world.
However, there are those who, fascinated after seeing them, have replicated them.
Many reproductions are found in the United Statesparticularly in New York, Florida and Los Angeles. But copies even reached Canada, Argentina and Thailand.
The windows of the city
According to the association’s website «Wine holes»born in 2015, there are 180 small windows in Florence. Of these, the organization has identified some 157to which he dedicated a small identification plaque.
The holes are so famous among visitors (especially from overseas) that they are now also part of an ad hoc itinerary of tourist guides.
If you walk along Via delle Belle Donna it is easy to come across a small tavern always surrounded by dozens of people, at any time of the day.
Next to the entrance there is one of the famous windows.
A crowd of people is preparing to take photos and videos to immortalize the moment in which, magically, the glass of wine comes out of the little door.
“I saw many videos on Tik Tok and it really seemed like a curious experience to have. I have often been to Florence but this year is the first time I have come to see the wine holes to do something different and new. I like the idea of a map to travel around to see them all”, says a woman from Las Vegas in line, while waiting for her turn to take some photos.
In the guides’ circle
Windows are now known worldwide especially thanks to the internet. In particular on Tik Tok And Instagram I am thousands of videos of the tabernacles have gone viral. This has contributed to making it a fixed stop for tourists who, seeing the images on social media, decide to introduce this experience into their travel itinerary.
«When I was at school to become a tourist guide I remember the wine holes and their history they were part of the program to be studied– explains Benedetta Grande – I attended the course 11 years ago and even then they were popular thanks to the internet. I remember they even gave us a tour of the windows.”
The map of the Florentine holes is also followed from organized tours who take their customers around the city in search of the tabernacles, then letting tourists knock on the door for a glass of wine or a spritz.
In Piazza dei Peruzzi, Maria Teresa Antonaccithe owner of one of the windows visited by the tours, says that right there, hundreds of years ago, a young man knocked Leonardo da Vincisent by the master Verrocchio to buy a few flasks of wine.
Success overseas
However, it was the American actor and director who made them particularly famous abroad Stanley Tucci who, in 2021, dedicated an episode of his «Searching for Italy» series to wine holes.
The episode aired on CNN and attracted the attention of millions of Americans, making them even more famous overseas.
It is no coincidence that the main clientele of the little window in Via Santo Spirito is American, although there are also several Italians.
«We open the little hole from 10 in the morning to 9 in the evening and there’s always a queue – says an employee of the restaurant – Tourists like this experience because they see it as a very traditional custom, even if in reality this is no longer the case. Plus it’s perfect for taking photos and videos, which often go viral on social media.”
