17 Beautiful Wine Windows in Florence (MAP INCLUDED)

Nestled right in the beating heart of Tuscany is Florence, the city of Brunelleschi, the Medici, and the most beautiful skylines you will find anywhere in the world.

And right in the beating heart of Florence is the neighborhood of Santo Spirito, where right in the city center are the wine windows in Florence, a unique existence in the country.

Wine windows in Florence, locally known as buchetto del vino, are peculiar places whose origins are as curious as they are tragic. To put it lightly, the beginning of the idea itself was literally a fiasco, as city wardens and tax collectors struggled to collect revenues in the midst of a pandemic all the while the city’s residents quietly bought the Tuscan wine for which the region is famed.

Usually found around the residences of the nobility, they were the first iteration of what we today know as social distancing. Time, memory, and good medical advances meant people forgot about these wine windows in Florence, that is, until recently with COVID-19 placing demands on the need to curb disease spread.

Here’s a full article on the BEST THINGS TO DO IN FLORENCE.

Now, wine windows are not just making a comeback, they have become a cultural fad (thanks to Instagrammers), a sensation and part of Florence’s urban scene where residents and tourists alike enjoy the wines in fiascos that truly make one’s day brighter.

Origins of the Wine Windows in Florence

The 1500s were a brutal time for Italy, with every city-state looking out for its own and most embroiled in incessant wars of conquest or survival. Tax collection was thus high in the minds of each city-state’s rulers and for the Medici, the rich coffers filled with proceeds from Tuscan wine sales were a source they could not disregard. But there was a problem…

The rich and nobility who mostly owned the vineyards were unwilling to shoulder the additional tax burden.

And the commoners saw wine as a medicinal necessity to their lives, especially in light of the plagues rampaging through their streets.

So, genius as ever, Cosimo devised a stratagem; the wine windows of Florence!

The idea was to allow the Florentine nobles to sell wine from their homes directly to buyers, i.e., their fellow city residents. The people would be appeased and buy wine cheaply. The rich would be appeased in having at least one sales channel untaxed. The middlemen would…ah, they were cut out of the whole deal! Anyways…

How Do I Tell a Normal Window from a Wine Window in Florence?

There is an art to telling windows apart.

1. For one, look around for a palazzi. Palazzi are the palatial residences that Florentine rich and nobles built for their homes. Florence was and remains fairly rich by many standards, and many of these former nobles also owned vineyards of their own around Tuscany.
2. Secondly, identify the main entrance to the palazzo. The wine windows are usually located right to the side of the main entrance of the homes.

Also, what do they actually look like?

For one, like little windows boarded up with something that looks like a little door. Have you ever seen those tabernacles in temples or synagogues? A rectangular thing with a domed top, only small?

They measure about a foot to a foot and a half in height and a foot in width. They are also about a meter and a half from the ground, making them about chest-high for most. They are usually embedded into the wall of the residence, as is the usual case for most wine windows in Florence. But sometimes you see one placed as an opening in the door of the residential palace, as is the case for Palazzo Naldini.

And remember, a wine window always opens inwards, not outwards. You see one opening the other way around…more on this later.

Finally, sometimes one is boarded or covered up to indicate there is no longer a wine window in operation. Today, many of the buildings in the city center stopped selling wines or are museums, offices, or commercial buildings. Still, you will the former or current openings artistically preserved or decorated. I’ve seen some of the wine windows on the Borgo degli Albizi and they look well designed. Sometimes it is the cement or brick façade around it, or the wooden closing is painted with an image, appearing like one of those triptychs you usually see in Cathedrals.

Each Italian city or town or village I’ve visited seems to have its own rich and deep personality trait. In Venice, I discovered that the odd way streets were angled was a civil engineering design called “pissabraghe” that was meant to deter muggers from waylaying unwary people walking the streets. Rome’s nasoni, the thousands of curved water spouts, provide water not only to residents, but also should have been preparation against fires…I think? In Florence, the oddity is in these wine windows, small windows that don’t let you look into the house but you still get to communicate with the owners.

Wine windows in Florence dropped out of fashion some while back, leading to many going into disuse or simply boarded up. I found many cases where a curious section of the wall had what looked like a window or opening boarded up or encased and covered in bricks. Fortunately, they are coming back in fashion and in my opinion, adding to Florence’s already deep and developed culture and character.

Finding Wine Windows in Florence!

Finding a buchette del vino can be both easy and difficult. Easy because there are supposedly some 180 wine windows in Florence! Hard because most have closed down or entirely boarded up the opening.

For the most part, these wine windows are found in the Santa Spirito neighborhood, a place packed with the urban residences and palaces of the rich. Plus, the neighborhood was filed with not only the nobility, but the artists they would sponsor or host in their homes. Think about it; the combination of an artist seeking a moment of respite from the strain on their brain, or the calm and clarity to be found in the depths of a glass of wine…in vino veritas!

However, not all wine windows in Florence are wine windows in Florence!

On the Via Martelli, n. 9 and Via Pandolfini, n. 8 are two really good examples someone pointed out to me while on a walking tour of Florence. They look painted over with some good artwork, or even boarded up. Apparently when blocking up wine windows, there is an art to it; the blocking is flush against the façade, looking even with the wall. Fake wine windows can also come with a chain or cord, indicating that someone has to pull to close it.

There is a nifty trick to finding the wine windows in Florence, one that I think I have mastered, but should be an open secret. Well, we coupled our walking tour of Florence with a little game of trying to see who could find the most wine windows. It’s actually a fun and educational way to walk Florence.

Seek out a Florentine monument like the Brunelleschi Dome, the Basilica di San Lorenzo, or the Piazza Peruzzi. During construction, these monuments and buildings would attract hundreds of artists and artisans. Remember, it is only recently that microscopes were invented and we knew how dangerous clear drinking water could be. Back then, beer and wine were what people consumed like water – or so the story goes – and building or creating art made for really thirsty work.

The buildings around the Uffizi Gallery and the Ponte Vecchio – actually, also these buildings – are good places to find wine windows as well.

The Oltarno district across the river Arno was also a hotspot of untaxed sales of wine in fiascos back in the day, and tell-tale signs of wine windows should be aplenty.

Others are more explicit, with a small set of tables and seats arranged right against a wall with a curious looking window in it. Others are very discrete, with a lantern or tree or something hanging over the spot as if the owners were trying to hide the ancient tradition. One good example is the one at the Guadagni Palace close to Piazza Santa Spirito. On the Via Mazzetta, n. 10, is a wooden board in a place my architectural senses tell me there shouldn’t be one.

I found there are quite a number of operating and non-operating wine windows between Borgo degli Albizi and Santa Croce, making the area a good place for an adventure.

The Borgo degli Albizi – again – is a rather interesting place to see if you are doing a walking tour of Florence. If you head over to the Palazzo Medici Riccardi and really observe the entrance door, you will see the tale-tell marks of what must have been a wine window in the door, exposing the palazzo’s deep, brawny, briary, and bright history.

I did some research and discovered that you can have so much more fun looking or identifying these wine windows. In the areas and metropolitan region around Florence like Barberino di Mugello, Borgo San Lorenzo, Galliano and Bibbiena, fellow Tuscans have taken the tradition for creating wine windows in their homes as well. When doing day trips from Florence, I am definitely trying to see whether I can identify them there as well.

Map of the Wine Windows in Florence

Map of wine windows around Florence

The Buchette del Vino Associazione Culturale is a dedicated group of people who have gone to the trouble of identifying, tracking, and keeping up-to-date records of the wine window scene in Florence and beyond.

Yes, I cheated. A little bit, but that is all it takes.

They have an exhaustive list of all the wine windows that have ever existed and even those that are not in operation or have been covered up. They even have a map where you can see all the wine windows in and around Florence.

I took the liberty of grabbing a few screenshots of their maps and made myself promise not to look at the database of exactly where and how the wine windows in Florence looked like.

Famous Wine Windows in Florence

“Man cannot live by wine alone, and must have some gelato, coffee, and good atmosphere.” – By Bacchus, a notorious drunkard.

Some wine windows are in operation, while others are boarded up entirely. Florence has close to 200 wine windows, to say nothing of the surrounding area. Many of those operating now do the wine selling as a side-dish mainly, selling gelato and local foods in the main. I found that a Florence wine windows tour can be both adventure and relaxation with a glass of wine if planned right.

1. Cantina del Gelato

Location: Via De’Bardi 31

Just 0.1 miles from the Uffizi Gallery, they serve very good gelato and smoothies. The look of the wine window is not much to talk about; there is a plaque the owners use to display their opening hours, and sometimes the wine window is blocked when the cantina’s doors open wide. Still, not only is it an authentic wine window, it still operates. For my part, it was finding it given the host of famous architecture around it. It is almost right in the middle of the Stefano Bardini Museum, Piazzale Michelangelo, Villa Bardini, and Palazzo Pitti.

2. Osteria Belle Donne

Location: Via delle Belle Donne, 2

Another of the famous wine windows still in operation, discovering this wine window was a pleasant adventure in itself. The fun was in two parts: we had decided to head up the lesser-known roads from the River Arno and were on the Via del Moro, trying to see whether we could hit a monument of museum. So finding a small crowd of guys taking wine from a window was just the kind of experience you want to have while on a walking tour of Florence. Top that with the gnocchi with pears and walnuts and we almost called it a day.

3. Babae

Location: Via Santo Spirito, 21R

One of the originals, Babae has retained the old tradition of handing over glasses of wine through the wine window itself in the early evening hours. And like many of the more places with famous wine windows in Florence still in operation, Babae combines their wines with Italian and Mediterranean foods ranging from awesome cheesecakes to bread and Nutella, hummus and mysticanza, to purple seed cabbage to shrimp pasta.

The wine window itself is part of the entire appeal that draws crowds in. The stone frame is a grey distinctly contrasting with the surrounding cream-colored wall. It is the usual chest-high, with a plaque just below distinguishing the wine window as an authentic historical piece of Florentine history.

4. Gelateria Royale

Location: Largo Piero Bargellini 5 Piazza Santa Croce

0.1 miles from the Basilica of Santa Croce, this gelateria offers you a taste of what the artists and artisans of old used to experience. They have good gelato, and the insane number of choices available is incredible. The wine window appears blocked off however, and to my feeling, something of the experience of ordering wine from a window is reduced. Still, its proximity to the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence, Casa Museo di Piero Bargellini, and Palazzo Bargellini made a stop-over good as a way to cover Florence’s delights in a single day.

5. Divin Boccone

Location: Via delle Caldaie, 20

They have a cellar that looks like an underground dungeon, complete with casks filled with wine and casks you get to sit on. The wine window itself looks…unconventional to my snse of what a wine window looks like. It is more of a metal grill over an opening in the wall but it has the right dimensions and offers the right services in selling wine. I get the wine cellar underground décor though; drinking on the streets is not allowed.

6. Fiaschetteria Fantappié

Location: Via dei Serragli, 47

One of the few wine windows where they not only sell through the opening if one wants, but have a bell you get to ring to call for the seller. The wooden doors are a dark mahogany color and the hinges open outwards, destroying all my research on how these things work. Even so, the tour was not a disappointment as we were always trying to see a fiaschetteria in Florence during our tour.

7. Palazzo Ramirez de Montalvo

Location: Borgo degli Albizi, 86r

A wonderful spot to visit and identify while on a walking tour of Florence. The wall the wine window is in is framed by a frescoe close to 500 years old. The thing is that the paint does not seem to be coming off anymore and it is like seeing 500 yr old street art! They don’t operate a wine business, but rather a paper production operation goes on there, with the wine window left for historical posterity.

8. Il Latini

Location: Via del Palchetti, 6r

Part of Palazzo Rucellai, the street Il Latini is found upon is also part of a fairly active night scene where tourists and locals enjoy hanging out. Unlike the first two, this particular wine window is actually open and serves wine by fiasco and glass. It is conventional, i.e., simple, with the opening closed off during off hours by a metal door.

9. Buca Lapi

Location: Via del Trebbio, 1r

A very pricey restaurant, but with an interior décor that is a match for a global traveler’s experience. The owners here really retained the soul of old medieval Florence both in the interior design of the place, as well as in retaining the wine window’s function. Despite the pricing of the food there, they use the wine window to offer poor folk food free of charge! If I have Florentine history right, this was something the old nobility of Florence would do, especially in hard times, for the less fortunate residents of the city back in the day.

10. Cantina de’ Pucci

Location: Via dei Pucci, 4A

Found in the Palazzo Pucci, this particular wine window is not only active, but keeps to the old rules! They display a glass of wine in the opening, a calling card to wine buyers and tasters. We didn’t get to partake this time; it was getting down to crunch time unfortunately. Our walking tour plan was to see what interesting places we would hit that was immediately close to or around a famous monument or building.

We wanted to see whether we could find a wine window – operating or not – that was close to the major architectural works. This time it was the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo di Firenze and Museo Leonardo Da Vinci on the Via dei Servi intersecting with Via dei Pucci.

11. Cantina Bartolini Salimbeni Vivae

Location: Via del Giglio, 2

Literally meaning “wine for sale,” this place retains its original door and frame, and also sells wine at given hours. The frame stone surrounding the window is the beautiful part because of its layout of orderly rushtic ashlar.

12. Gelateria Vivoli

Location: Via dell’Isola delle Stinche, 7r

It’s a pretty lovely gelateria near Santa Croce whose wine window was discovered during the disastrous flood of 1966. After the wall was destroyed by water, this pretty portal was revealed underneath after being long forgotten, sometimes good things come out of a disaster, huh! Since then, the window has been resurrected and was first used to dispense gelato and coffee during the recent coronavirus pandemic. I tasted their gelato and I must say, Gelateria Vivoli has some of the best gelato in Florence.

Some Lesser Known Wine Windows in Florence

So, while the owners of these wine windows do not seem interested in retaining the old tradition, they seem to have retained the frames and even wooden doors of the medieval innovation. Part of the fun in seeking them out is haunting Borgo degli Albizi and the Oltarno district just to see whether our eyes had gone ‘Florentine’ enough to see them.

1. Borgo degli Albizi, 11

Location: Borgo degli Albizi, 11

We have an actual wine window that retains its medieval look on this street. The wooden door still has its old knob and the exterior frame of stone is the original stone from its construction. It is one of many many wine windows found along Borgo degli Albizi. And, like many of the rest coming up, it does not seem to be operating its wine ‘function’ any longer, instead, retaining its character as part of Florentine history and culture.

2. Borgo degli Albizi, 27

Location: Borgo degli Albizi, 27

Has a curious curved shape that looks like an eye. The knob where the banger used to be is what actually makes it look like an eye, although the curving helps. It is right under a window of the Palazzo Tanagli. There is no frame distinguishing the wine window from the wall façade, and instead appears flush to the wall. Detecting this one can be an interesting challenge because the mind’s eye is not looking for a wine window when it sees this particular shape.

3. Palazzo Stiozzi Ridolfi

Location Via Alighieri

These are twin wine windows on the side wall of the Pallazo Stiozzi Ridolfi. The frames are from a mix of stone types, their contrast making for art in of their own. The two doors are painted, one in a deep blue, the other with a rose flower. Identifying this on your own can be fun. Plus, seeing Palace Stiozzi Ridolfi was added fun because we never considered the place as somewhere we had to visit.

4. Palazzo di Baldaccio d’Anghiari

Location: Via dell’Anguillara

There is no frame on the buchetta, with the door replaced by a mural painting of a mother holding a child. We almost missed seeing this one for what it was.

5. Via dell’Ardiglione

Location: Via dell’Ardiglione, 41

The beauty of this particular wine window is in its single-piece stone frame set against a cream-colored wall. The door is ancient, and the knob that used to be used to call for attention is gone. I think the neighborhood is in danger of gentrification or something. Many of the homes on the street seem to have placed metal covers over what I think are wine windows, although it is also doubtful there would be so many on the street. Let me know what you think of Via dell’Ardiglione, 41, and which of the above wine windows in Florence you find intriguing.

Tuscany is by far almost everyone’s favorite region in Italy. In as much as most tourists visit Florence and miss places in Tuscany, there’s so much to explore and the beauty of this is that you can visit many popular Tuscan towns as day trips. You can plan A day in Siena where Tay Trum says she visited Siena as a day trip after a wedding in Tuscany. She was pleasantly surprised by how much she liked Siena and recommended various things to do in One Day in Siena including budget-friendly options.

There are several things to do, and foods to try. Then there’s Pitigliano, Montepulciano, Pisa, Pienza and so much more to see in Tuscany.