If you’re going to be strolling through Italy sometime soon, you may want to take a good look at some of the buildings. You may see these small windows in the walls that have been a thing in Italy for hundreds of years, but their story is rather grim.
The “Buchette del vino” literally means a “wine hole,” and these openings are carved out in the buildings so well that they barely even stand out. The windows were created in the 17th century in taverns, wineries, and wine producers’ houses when the plague was raging in Europe. Thanks to this little innovation, the guests could drink wine and other alcohol without entering the establishment, which helped the owners to stay in business.
Italians have this amazing tradition called aperitivo, where they unwind and relax with a glass of wine in the evening, but the pandemic has thoroughly screwed this custom. Turns out that the Italians had the solution to this problem ever since the 17th century, and after a couple of modernizations, the wine windows are possibly the best thing that came out of this pandemic.
Many of the wine holes have been sealed shut until recently. After the flood in Florence in 1966, many wooden objects were destroyed, and those that have survived got a second chance. Due to the COVID situation, the wine windows fave started opening mainly in Florence. People were sick of staying at home and doing nothing, so when the government allowed them to gradually resume thier usual operations, some Florentine winery owners turned back the clock and started using their windows to dispense glasses of wine, cups of coffee, drinks, sandwiches, and ice cream – all germ-free!
There are already more than 170 wine spots in Florencia and 28 in the Tuscany region. The owners need to report them to the Buchette del Vino organization, which marks them on an interactive map.
The Italians showed the world that the tradition of them chillaxing together was one of the elements that made it possible to survive difficult times back in the 17 century, as well as now. So let’s raise our glasses to functioning alcoholism! Cheers!
