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FALL 2020 Italian American Digest
Wine Windows: An
Italian Way to Social
Distance
The Italian government is
extending its coronavirus safety
measures into September.
Prime Minister Giuseppe
Conte announced that the council
of ministers
approved a
decree related to
the COVID-19
shutdown, which
will be in force
from Aug. 10
through Sept. 7.
"The new
decree will find
the extension
until 7 September
of the minimum
precautionary
measures that
are currently in
force," Conte
said. "We are
in a situation
of substantial
stability with
regards to the
epidemiological
curve, with slight signs of a
resurgence of the number of
infections… The rate of infections
in Italy is among the lowest in the
European Union."
Conte has called for the state
of emergency to be extended to
October 15.
By Enrico Villamaino
Included in the measures that
will be extended are the wearing face
masks in, the one-meter distance rule
on social distancing, and the ban on
gatherings.
A functional Wine Window located in Florence, "Le buchette del vino" (or "Wine Holes") is an
association that catalogues window locations, designating
them with plaques below each one.
Phot Credit: AFP
In response to the restrictions,
the city of Florence has turned to a
16th century innovation to allow for
contactless food and alcohol sales,
“wine windows” are experiencing a
renaissance of their own.
During the 16th-century,
Florentines eager to have wine but
not the plague used a series of small
windows, just 30 centimeters high
and 20 centimeters wide to keep
themselves safe.
The windows fell into disuse,
but in the age
of coronavirus,
they offer a way
for consumers
to purchase
spirits, gelato, and
coffee, all while
adhering to social
distancing rules.
The windows
actually pre-date
the plague. They
were created by
the Medici family
in 1532. The
Medicis wanted
to encourage
Florentine
landowners to
invest in olive
groves and
vineyards.
They gave
them a tax break if they sold their
products directly in town.
The landowners got rid of the
middleman and sold their produce
directly to consumers through their
windows.
Over 250 operational wine
windows are located in Florence.