On the round Piazza Trieste e Trento, inside the Naples Prefecture building, the celebrated Gran Caffe Gambrinus has stood for years and will likely remain there for many more. Its story began back in the days of Italy's unification. In distant 1860, an elegant "Grand Cafe" opened on the ground floor of this understated building. Artists and politicians soon made it their home.
Some of Europe's finest pastry chefs, gelato makers, and baristas came hoping to work here. Word of the cafe quickly reached the royal family, and before long it became an official supplier to the Bourbon court.
The first real crisis came in 1885, when Gran Caffe found itself on the verge of closing. Its savior was Mariano Vacca – a regular patron, admirer of actors and artists, and the man who entrusted the renovation of the cafe's leased rooms to the renowned architect Antonio Curri.
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Photo: Elvira Kovrigina
More than forty craftsmen turned the interior of Gran Caffe into an art gallery, using marble, wallpaper, stucco, and paintings of Neapolitan landscapes brought to life by the gleam of electric light.
The cafe entered the Belle Epoque with more than a refreshed interior. Its name gained that of the legendary king of brewing, Gambrinus, linking in visitors' minds their beloved dark drink with one that was pale and served cold.
Since then, Gran Caffe Gambrinus has preserved the memory of its famous guests: Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway, Jean-Paul Sartre, as well as kings, politicians, actors, and journalists who met here, traded ideas, and read poetry...
Photo: Elvira Kovrigina
The story of this thriving literary cafe was interrupted in 1938, when the city's prefect shut it down as a meeting place for anti-fascists. This time, the Bank of Naples saved Gambrinus's historic interiors from destruction and looting by taking over part of the premises for offices.
The cafe owes its second revival in the 1970s to the Sergio family – first Michele, then later his sons Arturo and Antonio. Restored stucco and precious frescoes bought back for the interiors returned the cafe to its former image. Naples's elite once again had a home here, and visiting celebrities felt obliged to stop in.
See the pair of unwashed cups in the display case? In 2013, they were used by then-President Giorgio Napolitano and his companion.
And now, 155 years after it first opened, this "living room of Naples" is still full of life: at any hour of the day, tired tourists and relaxed Italians extend the proud story of Gran Caffe Gambrinus over a cup of strong Neapolitan coffee.
Traveler and photographer Elvira Kovrigina
