Archive for 'Restaurants & Cafés'

The Caffé Pedrocchi is an iconic café in the Italian city of Padua that dates back to the 18th and is where many historical events have taken place and famous figures have gathered over the years. Artists and intellectuals were drawn to the place to meet and discuss ideas and it can boast having had Lord Byron and Stendhal, who described it as “simply the best in the world,” as visitors. Still a café, and more, today, it is located right in the very centre of the city and is a great place to sit and grab a drink of one kind or another while you explore. Just find a vacation rental in Padua and follow in the footsteps of Byron to this very special café.

In 1760, Padua had around 40 café proprietors and the most successful was Pietro Zigno. Zigno took his nephew, Francesco Pedrocchi, under his wing and, at the age of 14, Pedrocchi started working at the café. Finding himself suited to the job, he decided to open his own establishment in 1772, after Zigno’s death.

A luxury villa in Italy is a great idea for those who love coffee as it is not hard to get your hands on an excellent brew throughout the country. However, if you have particularly specialised tastes or are a serious coffee lover and aficionado, then you need to head to a vacation rental in Turin and pay a visit to Orso Laboratorio Caffè.

This lovely little café is located close to Piazza Madama, on via Claudio Luigi Berthollet in the San Salvario neighbourhood. A real community and local spot, it boasts a warm and pleasant atmosphere of steady regulars interacting with the friendly staff members. Just grab a little table and a coffee take it all in!

Art and good food and coffee are a given if you have found a luxury villa in Italy and are planning a vacation in the country. However, if you like to combine those things, all at the same time, then a vacation rental in Rome is a good idea as there is somewhere where you can find it all under one roof: the “art restaurant” of Canova Tadolini.

Located on via del Babuino, in the heart of the city, Canova Tadolini is a museum combined with a restaurant and café. On display, all throughout the space, you will find busts, sculptural panels, sculptures and more that were created by the artist family that lived in the house until 1967: the Tadolini family.

Over on the Tuscany Villas blog we have previously discussed the Negroni cocktail and its origins. While the exact details of said origins are disputed and their are many versions of the tale, the most popular attributes it to the Caffè Casoni (now called Caffè Giacosa) in Florence in 1919, when a Count Camillo Negroni asked the bartender, Forsco Scarselli, to strengthen his favourite cocktail by adding gin rather than the normal soda water to an Americano. To this, an orange garnish rather than the typical lemon garnish of the Americano, was also added and, soon, the cocktail became a favourite at the bar.

We have discussed stunning cafes in Milan before but it would be remiss of us to not also mention Pasticceria Marchesi. An important and historic patisserie in Milan, it was established in 1824 and became well known for its elegant aesthetic and incredible specialties, including their Panettone, which they claim is the best in the country. With its impossibly charming interiors and tasty treats, it is a wonderful place to wile away time with a good book or head for a coffee pitstop if you have found a vacation rental in Milan and are exploring the city.