Some of Florence, Italy’s centuries-old buildings feature what are known as “wine windows”. These small, narrow windows allowed wine merchants to sell their bottles and receive payment with minimal physical contact during the 17th-century Italian plague.
History as a way of repeating itself, and so, Florentine shop owners whose stores have a wine window have decided to revive the trend. In present-day Florence, you can currently buy not only wine, but cocktails, coffee, takeout, and even gelato through these old stone apertures.
Read on to learn more about the 21st-century Florentine business owners who are using wine windows just like their predecessors did four hundred years ago. And you can find out more about the fascinating history of wine windows via the Wine Windows Association’s website.
Contact Our Writer – Alysa Salzberg