. In 1585 the Venetian ambassador to Instambul
told the Senate that the Turkish were drinking a hot
black drink, made by a seed called Kahavè and that
people had diffuculty in falling asleep after drinking
this beverage. This seed was brought back to Venice and
in 1638 it was roasted, ground and sold at an expensive
price from a special caffè shop which was located
directly under the Procuratie. In a short time the caffè
shops opened all of the city and by the end of the next
century there were 24 such caffè's in St.Mark's Square
alone. These caffè's soon became the favorite place
among intellectuals to meet and drink coffee. Gambling,
another favorite past time of the Venetian nobility also
went on in the caffè's.The popularity of these places grew more and more, and in 1720 one of the most elegant: "Caffè alla Venezia trionfante" opened it's doors. This Caffè of the Triumphant Venice was a popular meeting point for both foreign and national high society. Such notables as Carlo Goldoni, the brothers Gozzi and Antonio Canova often spent many hours in this caffè. The caffè's first owner was Floriano Francesconi and therefore the caffè was affectionately called "Florian". In 1775 G. Quadri decided to open a new caffè shop in front of the Florian on the opposite side of the Square and promised to serve only real Turkish Café. For a long time the shop had a bad reputation, driving the owner to near bankruptcy, but in 1830 the nobility recognized the Caffè Quadri as having fine service and quality coffee and it's reputation for quality remains today.
The Venetians were also well known for their love of beautiful women and love affairs were frequent and legendary.
Giacomo
Casanova became one of the most legendary lovers of
Venetian origin but other lesser known lovers soon filled
the State orphanages with their children. Many of these
love affairs had their start in the caffes of St.Mark's
Square so in 1767 the government prohibited women from
frequenting caffes. However, Casanova couldn't resist the
charms of the women who strolled about the Square and
under the porticos of the Procuratie. He was placed in
"Piombi", the prison, by State Investigators
because of his lascivious and anti-religious habits.
Casanova attempted to escape twice. The first time, just
before finishing a hole in the floor he was moved to
another cell. However it was better that he didn't finish
digging as that hole would have dropped him directly in
front of the Inquisitors (again!) in the room below. The
second attempt succeeded and he made his way out of the
Palace and walked directly down the Golden Staircase and
out the main entrance! The warders saw him leaving but
they thought he was a politician and didn't stop him.
Before taking the Gondola to leave the city, he couldn't
resist one last stroll through the Procuratie where he
bid his friends goodbye and had one last cup of coffee in
his beloved Piazza San Marco. Casanova reached Paris
where lived for 20 years before he was pardoned and
allowed to return to his beloved Venice.
