Caffè Florian – the historic Venetian café, the book, and its perfume
- mymoderndarcy
- 2 minutes ago
- 9 min read
Dear readers, with the previous blog about a historic elegant restaurant in Paris, I somehow have another one in mind which I’ve been thinking of blogging about for quite some time, I know that some of you might start rolling your eyeballs and getting tired about all things Paris (or France) that I have written, no worries; this time we are leaving Paris and heading to the home of the masquerade carnival – Venice, to visit a historic Venetian café not only it is one of the oldest in Italy, but in the world. Perhaps some of you might hear of the name Caffè Florian when talking about Venice, but somehow I have this question for myself: “how much do I know about this historic café exactly besides using only a few vocabularies to describe it such as ‘beautiful’, ‘old’ or ‘traditional’?” I gave this question myself as a quest before I visited Venice back in almost a decade ago, and I do want to do something more meaningful and value-added to myself instead of solely for the sake of enjoying a touristic moment brainlessly, ordering a piece of pretty pastry and coffee, letting the smart-phone to eat the meal first before me, then clapping my butt and leave before proclaiming to the world with a bumper sticker saying “I was here”. And so, after gathering the final piece of the “puzzle” a couple of weeks ago, I decided to finish this blog as my tribute to this historic Venetian café.
Photo source: Pinterest
Photo source: Pinterest
Established in 1720 by Mr. Floriano Francesconi, Caffè Florian was once a small café with only two furnished salons, patronized by some of the notable people in its early days including the late Venetian adventurer, Giacomo G. Casanova, late German writer and intellect, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and so on, then later, esteemed late French writer, Marcel Proust, and late English novelist, Charles Dickens were also a frequent patron among others, a famous rendezvous for people in different social classes. The business of the café then succeeded by Floriano’s grandson, Mr. Valentino Francesconi, in 1773, then to Valentino’s son, Antonio, in 1814, which became the last reign of the family to run this café. The café also expanded throughout the 19th century with new salons including "Sala del Senato" (Senate Room), "Sala Greca" (Greek Room), "Sala Cinese" (Chinese room) and "Sala Orientale" (Oriental Room), the café then passed into new owners, who are Vincenzo Porta, Giovanni Pardelli, and Pietro Baccanello, in 1858, and the undesirable state inside the café leads its restoration subsequently, which the late Italian architect, Lodovico Cadorin, was commissioned to carry out the restoration and redecorating project. He called on the best artists and artisans in Venice to take part in the restoration, and the magnificent result could be found in each of the salon inside the café, which included the paintings “The Age of Enlightenment, or Progress” “Civilization educating the nations” decorated by Giacomo Casa, and eleven panels representing arts and sciences in the “Sala del Senato” (Senate Hall); the far-east-inspired paintings of lovers and scantily clad exotic women painted by late Italian genre painter, Antonio Pascuti, in the “Sala Cinese” (Chinese Hall) and “Sala Orientale” (Oriental Hall), then paintings of ten notable Venetians: Goldoni, Marco Polo, Titian, Francesco Morosini, Pietro Orseolo, Andrea Palladio, Benedetto Marcello, Paolo Sarpi, Vettor Pisani and Enrico Dandolo, was decorated by late Italian painter, Giulio Carlini, in the “Sala degli Uomini Illustri” (Hall of the Illustrious Men), one of the new rooms which added during the restoration in 1872 and 1891. Then in 1920, The Sala Liberty was added during the anniversary of the café foundation, which was decorated in an art nouveau style with hand-painted mirrors and sumptuous wooden paneling. The new restoration work throughout the century makes this Venetian café back to its heydays in a much more artistic and opulent atmosphere, enabling their patrons and visitors to experience the quintessential Venetian style - the opulent artistry of the Renaissance, the unique nobility elegance that reflects the beauty, prestige, and significance of this city, and the art of living of the Venetian back then.
Photo source: Pinterest
Photo source: Pinterest
Looking back at the photos taken back in 2016 at Caffè Florian, it was pretty emotional, surreal, and exhilarating, especially when marveling at the beautifully decorated and carefully preserved interior of the salon “Sala del Senato”, having a light lunch there while listening to the classic folk-style Venetian music played right at the outdoor area of the café on the piazza, with a bit of imagination, it takes one back in time to be surrounded by all the elegantly dressed Venetian noblemen and ladies, the elites and intellects, perhaps the courtesans too back in the 18th century, to appreciate their art of living, the way the Venetian interact between different social classes and status, and of course, how the way they dress and groom for both men and women. It also reminded me how important it is, to be mindful when it comes to picking an outfit to visit this historic café, making sure to dress impeccably and elegantly to reciprocate the appreciation over the effort of the Founder, the artists, and even the people who dedicate themselves to all the conservation work for this establishment, who created such a magnificent history and venue, that enables us to experience this artistic legacy today, without them, there’ll be no Caffè Florian Venice.
Photo source: Pinterest
Photo source: Pinterest
During the pandemic in 2021, an article came to my attention that the café had undergone a critical period of operating due to the low travel rate and lockdown, which it was facing the possibility of closing down, for good. My heart sank when I read that as it was not something that I anticipated, in that moment, it suddenly brought back a lot of memories and I even tried to see what memorabilia I still had that I could preserve the precious moment I spent at Caffè Florian.
I remember there are a couple of things that I bought before I left, which are a silk scarf in a beautiful print that imitates the interior of one of the salons, a small tin of tea, and a small bottle of room spray (which initially I thought it was a perfume but they didn’t produce any back then), and there’s one thing that I was regret that I didn’t get back then, is a beautiful copy of coffee table book about the history of their café. It took me almost a decade later, and make quite an effort to get a copy as how much I realized that it could possibly be the last chance that I could own a piece of history and literature about Caffè Florian, which thankfully, the second-hand copy just arrived my hands a few weeks ago.
Titled “Florian, Venezia 1720”, published by Florian in 2008, written by French writer, Mr. Robert de Laroche, who is passionate about Venetian history and daily life, this book not only laid out the in-depth history of Caffè Florian, the details of the interior and restoration, it also offered a valuable story about how the Venetian society and culture evolves throughout the century, and how it affects the Venetian art of living, from the prosperous golden day of lavish living, to the decadence, economic turmoil, and social upheavals, and more importantly, how did Caffè Florian survive after been through all these historic events, also as one of the landmark that represents the splendor of the art of the Venetian 18th century society, the untold story of refined and difficult art of living which nobody will even know when they first enter this historic Venetian café, to me, this book is such a fascinating copy to have, especially if you are also interested about the history about Caffè Florian, the elegance and opulence of Venetian lifestyle and art of living from the past.
Besides a beautiful coffee table book, one of the great ways to recapture the history or an experience is through scent. A couple of years after visiting Caffè Florian Venice, the café officially launched a couple of perfumes, possibly around 2019, with Venetian master perfumer, Mr. Lorenzo Dante Ferro, which the inspiration derived from the splendid interior of the salon inside the historic Venetian café. As far as I know, there are total of three perfume that has released so far, they are all in ‘Parfum de toilette’ (which I possibly believe it’s equivalent to ‘Eau de toilette’) only: “Aqua Florian”, “Aqua Admirabilis”, and “Aqua Moresca”, each has its own unique classic and sophisticated glass bottle design, adorned with a delicate glass bead containing gold dust and gold foil, hanging with a string formed by a strand of tiny Amber color beads at the neck of the perfume bottle that homage to the beauty and art of Murano glass-making, the circular shaped stopper with a gold colored rim, and a very discreet “lion” mark on the top of the spray nozzle which represents the symbol of the Venetian lagoon and the café, adding the understated label with the artistic Italian font that resembling the branding of the café, all these artistic elements have already appealed me a lot in the first place, and I’ve been craving for having one of these perfume for quite some time as another piece of memorabilia in my Caffè Florian collection, while they are not able to ship to my city unfortunately (also consider the hefty shipping cost!), taking advantage of my trip to Paris last year, I finally managed to get two of them.
The first spray of “Aqua Florian” really captured my heart with its pleasant green, zesty woody notes, it opens with aquatic floral notes including ozone, marine, Linden blossoms, and Orange flowers, the green notes then develop and become much more intense with the uplifting scents included Absinthe, Myrtle and Coriander, the perfume then dries down with woody notes included Mosses, Amber, and precious woods. This intoxicating fragrance is such an ideal fragrance for spring and summer, either it’s depicting the scene of a relaxing walk along the side of the Grand Canal when the summer breeze blows to cool one down, or spending time along the beach of the Lagoon to experience a more resort, Venetian summer getaway feel, this perfume gives a beautiful combination of refinement, elegance and Venetian opulence with an understated allure and seduction, it’s crispy, fresh, uplifting, and bright, at the same time, its greenery and woodiness is solid yet it doesn’t make one feel overwhelming or even repelling at all, it was done just right, it creates a clear image of a very polished and impeccably dressed Venetian aristocratic gentleman in my head, who wears his cream colored tailored linen suit, matching with the crispy white tailored linen shirt and his luxurious suede Ecru colored yacht loafers, walking along the less crowded Grand Canal, showing his effortless chic and sophistication, polished and classy, suave and well-bred, which it makes it such a sophisticated, long lasting, and luxurious-smelling unisex perfume.
For “Aqua Admirabilis”, I had the same kind of impression that I got from “Aqua Florian” from the first spray, classified as a floral woody musky perfume, it opens with fresh citrus notes including Bergamot and Bitter Orange, then the fragrance dries down in rich floral and musky notes included Jasmine, Lily, Lemon, and Amber. Interestingly, this perfume was originated from an Italian perfumer named, Mr. Giampaolo Feminis, who invented this “Aqua Admirabilis” back in around the late 18th century, which supposed to be the Venetian version of “Eau de Cologne” during his brief stay in Köln, Germany, and the first version was in the composition of Grape alcohol, Musk, Rosemary, Lavender, Bergamot, and Neroli oil, which are the most exquisite of Italian essential oils back in those times; with the contemporary interpretation by the Venetian master perfumer Lorenzo and the Venetian café, the modern version of“Aqua Admirabilis” is the result of showing the rare artistry that captured the essence of Venetian elegance, a homage to the beauty of Venetian perfume know-how, and its association with the bygone historic splendor, the thriving prosperity, and the glamour that the city of Venice once known for, bridging the past to the present through this distinctive perfume. To me, this perfume has a certain cleanliness that I almost thought it was the combination of Lime, Jasmines, and a bit of Lily-of-the-valley in the beginning, which is pretty dominant, as the perfume starts to develop, it becomes much gentler, gracious, and silkier compare with “Aqua Florian”, and it’s certainly more a perfume than a cologne in my opinion, given its longevity on my skin.
Another noteworthy about this Venetian master perfumer’s work is that he is one of the very few independent creators and producers of fine fragrances for limited and exclusive distribution nowadays, in other words, these sophisticated perfumes are the work-of-arts which unlike any commercial perfume one can easily find in the market, the exclusivity and scarcity will only be comprehended and appreciated by avid perfume connoisseurs and collectors, who strives to look for something that is one-of-the-kind, sophisticated, understated luxury, and made with heart, artistry, and soul.
While I won’t be able to go back Venice any time soon, going through the memorabilia that collected so far as well as writing this blog, helps me to revisit those precious moments, in particular, spending time in Caffè Florian Venice, as a little tribute to this historic establishment about how this experience has brought such valuable knowledge and impressive memories to my life, and I truly hope, after all the hard times that the café has been through, it can still sustain going forward without vanish without a trace, letting its Venetian history, its unique café culture, and art-of-living continue to shine even after 300 years later and beyond.
Photo source: Pinterest
Photo source: Pinterest