Al Brindisi restaurant

At the Osteria Al Brindisi excellent Ferrara dishes are served among shelves of bottles, simple furnishings and exposed beams in a room dating back to 1435.

In Ferrara, next to the Cathedral, there is what is documented (since 1435) as the oldest Renaissance tavern and, perhaps, in the world.

It was called the Hostaria del Chiucchiolino in the 15th century which, exiting or avoiding the door of the church, slipped into the adjacent path (now via degli Adelardi 11) to taste good wine on board a boat; the tavern was - in fact - in a small cove formed by rainwater.

It is said that many illustrious guests have frequented this place. Among them: the sculptor Benvenuto Cellini, the poets Ludovico Ariosto and Torquato Tasso, the astronomer Niccolò Copernico who lived and studied right above the tavern.

In 1973, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyàski, Primate of Poland and Karol Wojtyà, who accompanied him, were in Ferrara on the occasion of the fifth centenary of the astronomer's birth and, to visit the home of the illustrious compatriot, they had to cross the interior of the tavern "Al brindisi", as the tavern considered to be the oldest in the world is now called (still in business).

The oldest tavern in the world
In the Renaissance period there was a very popular tavern in Ferrara: it was, and still is today, next to the Cathedral, where then there was a drainage channel known as "Gorgadello"; in fact, it should be remembered that the first rainwater collection systems appeared at the end of the 1400s. In the writings of the time, the place was known as "Osteria del Chiucchiolino", a name that was however recurrent in various Italian cities of that time, given that "chiucchiolino" derives from "chiù", whose contracted expression recalls the term "ciucco", synonymous with drunk. Ariosto even remembers this place in his comedy entitled "La Lena".

"... cuchiolin's eyes would be more comfortable
by Sabbatino Mariano and the like,
when drunk Gorgadel come out .... "

Lena- Ludovico Ariosto-

Nicholas Copernicus, the famous Polish scientist who studied at the University of Ferrara, also stayed above the tavern, where he began to develop his revolutionary astronomical theory under the guidance of Domenico Navara

Map: Al Brindisi restaurant

vCard Info:

Address: Via Adelardi, 11, 44100
Ferrara (FE) Emilia Romagna
Latitude: 44.835927556246865
Longitude: 11.620182394981384
Site: https://www.albrindisi.net...

vCard created by: Stefano Vigolo
Currently owned by: Stefano Vigolo

Type: Building
Function: Restaurant
Creation date:
Last update: 29/06/2022