+7 Shining Light on Caffé del Sole
Shining Light on Caffé del Sole
Shining Light on Caffé del Sole
Shining Light on Caffé del Sole
Shining Light on Caffé del Sole
Shining Light on Caffé del Sole
Shining Light on Caffé del Sole
Shining Light on Caffé del Sole
Shining Light on Caffé del Sole
On a cool December night, author Nicola H. Cosentino sits poised on a wooden stool in front of a packed house at Urbino’s Caffé del Sole. He’s holding his third novel, Vita e morte delle aragoste (Life and Death of Lobsters), the bright red cover scattered among the hands of audience members reading along. Ornate white teapots top the various worn coffee tables.
After reading aloud a momentous scene in which a character destroys elegant teapots in a fit of rage, Cosentino slaps the paperback shut. “Now, we will smash the teapots,” he says. At first, there is silence, then skepticism. A collective, “Huh?” escapes the confused crowd.
“Smash the teapots.”
The author leads the throng of readers outside the bar to the slanted bricks of Via Giuseppe Mazzini, teapot in hand. He drops the shimmering white ceramic to the street, where it delicately shatters. One by one, the now-enthusiastic audience members follow suit.
This is anything but unusual at the eclectic Caffé del Sole, a cultural beacon in Urbino. Owner Romina Piccolo, tall, with short brown hair and a warm smile, describes her caffé in many ways: a family, an alchemical forge of ideas and culture, but most importantly, a second home to anyone and everyone who enters. She volunteers the caffé for the yearly literary festival, Urbino e le cittá del libro (“Urbino and the city of the book”), and works with local and regional artists, musicians, poets, and authors that bring the community together and enrich its cultural life. “People come here and they play the guitar, chess, foosball,” she says. “They do what they want as if they were at home.”
Afternoon light pours into the bar through the wide-open double doors. Straight ahead, the S-shaped bar curves and fills the right corner. Shallow shelves jut from the wall behind, displaying a colorfully vast assortment of liquor and wine bottles. On the left, past the obligatory foosball table, an arched window overlooks the back lounge, which resembles a cozy family room. It has coffee tables, books, and soft lamps in the back corners. All the walls in Caffé del Sole are covered with brightly painted ceramic suns.
Why all the suns? What’s with the name? Sinking into one of the loveseats in the lounge, Piccolo says, “I have loved the Sun ever since I was a little girl.” In grade school, when asked to draw her own image of God, she drew the sun. Growing up, she bought all kinds of paraphernalia plastered with the big burning star–“mugs, T-shirts, whatever.”
Piccolo gestures toward a large cluster of suns above the couches in the back-left corner and says, “At first, twenty of these decorations were mine. But as students were graduating and leaving, they added a piece and the collection grew bigger. It became a sort of tradition.”
Piccolo calls to a bald man shuffling around the bar on his way into the lounge. She points to one of the chubbier-faced suns on the wall, laughs, and says, “That one’s Mimmo.”
“I think our secret weapon is the fact that people here are always welcomed with a hug, handshake, or smile,” Celi says, offering a smile as cheerful as one of the beaming soli on the wall behind him. “There’s a real relationship with our customers.”
Mimmo is the nickname of Domenico Celi, Piccolo’s business partner with whom she opened the caffé 20 years ago. He’s a music connoisseur and promoter, responsible for bringing live music events to Urbino. “We started off with jazz, and we would play it at seven,” Celi says, plopping himself down next to Piccolo. “We were kind of judged for it,” he says, stroking his gray beard.
Before Piccolo and Celi started Caffé del Sole, live music was nearly impossible to find in Urbino, especially while it was still light out. Acts had to play outside because other caffé were too small to accommodate them indoors. The loud volume so early in the evening was bothersome to neighbors.
Piccolo says they were successful in their endeavor because of the larger size of their caffé. She’s right: The larger lounge area allowed them to bring musical acts inside, without compromising the whole bar just for a performance. People could move freely and enjoy the music at whatever capacity they preferred.
A friend enters the bar, and Piccolo leaps from her seat to kiss her on each cheek. “Ciao bella!” she says gleefully. “I think our secret weapon is the fact that people here are always welcomed with a hug, handshake, or smile,” Celi says, offering a smile as cheerful as one of the beaming soli on the wall behind him. “There’s a real relationship with our customers.”
To his left, below the assorted suns, is a large, light-brown wooden grand piano. Here, Celi mentored award-winning singer and pianist Raphael Gualazzi.
At first, says Celi, Gualazzi played with his back to the audience on a small keyboard he carried when skipping school to come to the bar. “I tried to encourage him because he was really shy at first. I tried to convince him to believe in his own potential,” Celi says. He eyes the piano he bought almost 20 years ago so Gualazzi had a real place to play. “And eventually he did.” Piccolo and Celi reminisce about Gualazzi eventually playing in a band with other locals, finally facing the crowd, and writing his own songs in the caffé. They’re like parents reveling in pride for their prodigal son.
Gualazzi’s fame also brought crowds, which brought recognition to Caffé del Sole, which in turn brought other musicians who wanted fame and crowds. “He was a big inspiration for the other artists who were playing here, just to see him become famous here,” says Celi.
This past May, the caffé hosted Comelinchiostro, an urban singer-songwriter from the Linguria region. Born Giorgio Bravi, the solo acoustic act showcased songs from his newest album, Di che cosa hai paura? (“What are you afraid of?”).
Past the grand piano, on the far side of the lounge, is a corner bookshelf, fully stocked with a selection of novels, non-fiction, and poetry. Five years ago, Piccolo recognized the caffé had the ability to include literature in its range of events. “Books are alive. They present culture, they can provide a different perspective on an experience,” she says. The abundance of books in the caffé and her robust vocabulary are dead giveaways that she is an avid reader. “Books saved my life, but that’s a whole different story,” she says, and laughs.
The creation of Urbino e le cittá del libro (abbreviated UCL) in 2014 was a major catalyst for this new addition. Founder Alessio Torino, who is a university professor in Urbino, started the festival with the goal to “promote reading and editorial culture through presentations, readings, workshops,” and the like. Torino is a longtime customer at Caffé del Sole, so Piccolo decided to reach out and use the connection to its fullest extent. “I thought it was strange,” says Piccolo, “that people came to this festival from all over the country, and people from Urbino did not know much about it, so I decided to spread the word.”
She finishes her sentence just as another good friend enters the lounge and is met with more amiable cheek kisses and a hug. He’s holding an advertisement for what Piccolo calls “Waiting for UCL.” Each month, she holds a book presentation at the caffé to bring awareness of the festival to Urbino.
When she first brought up the idea of literary events at the caffé, friends and colleagues hesitated. They insisted that no one would come if she wanted to introduce reading. So she went home, thought about it more, and came back with her own special Piccolo spin: She decided not to present books academically, but instead with what she calls the “Sixth Sense.”
“I strongly believe that Caffé del Sole is a crucial meeting point for different kinds of people, from academics to workers. I have always thought of it as the heart of Urbino,” says customer Domenico Giordani.
“It’s a way to involve people and to sort of re-create scenes of the books in the caffé,” she says. Like when Cosentino had the patrons smash the beautiful teapots. “I tried to give my guests the chance to try new things.”
Waiting to order a glass of wine at the bar is writer Domenico Giordani. He was brought to the bar by a friend four years ago with the promise of the best aperitivo in Urbino. Now, he can often be found at book and poetry presentations at Caffé del Sole.
“I strongly believe that Caffé del Sole is a crucial meeting point for different kinds of people, from academics to workers. I have always thought of it as the heart of Urbino,” he says later in an email. Giordani also sees the place as a valuable outlet for young artists to attract the notice of academics and talent scouts. Along with requests from musical acts all over Italy to come play at the bar, Piccolo says she receives books and inquiries from publishers to be presented.
Standing in the wide doorway and looking down the steep street, Piccolo lights a cigarette. She believes Caffé del Sole has managed to survive the recent economic downturn in Urbino because “people realize there is a soul in this place.” She adds that her employees were not simply hired randomly. “They are people that I trust and know how to welcome customers. They don’t do it for the money, they do it because that’s how they are,” the business owner says.
The newest hire at Caffé del Sole, Iride Benna, has already begun to see the magic both behind the scenes and at the bar. “Two years ago I tried to work here, but they had a full staff so I worked somewhere else,” Benna says while greeting familiar guests as they enter the bar. In her three weeks of employment here, she says she’s already been inspired by Piccolo and Celi.
Benna is well versed in mixology, having studied in Rome and Milan. She also studied photography and cinematography in high school and here at Urbino’s university. “My dream is to open a bar that introduces art like Caffé del Sole,” she says. She admires their willingness to reach into and help the community. “It’s one of the rare places in Urbino where if you have something artistic that you do, they are so happy to have it here. And if you are a student and you propose an event they really try to help you do it.”
Now sitting outside at one of the tables, Piccolo gently sips a cappuccino. On the summer solstice, June 21st, Caffé del Sole will celebrate its 20th anniversary of business in the same way that it began. Piccolo has planned a jam session and invited all the artists who have played at the caffé in the past. “We’re going to set a small stage right here on the road,” she says, gesturing downward with two outstretched hands. There will also be a poetry exhibit, and students from Urbino’s art academy, who will make drawings for customers.
“We’re going to give all the clients a little gift, but I cannot say what that is yet,” she says with a devious chuckle. You’ll just have to make your way down there on the day of the Sun to find out. Who knows? You might just get to smash a celebratory wine glass.
Translation of interviews and other language assistance by University of Urbino student Francesca Massari. This article also appears in Urbino Now magazine’s Urbino Centro section. You can read all the magazine articles in print by ordering a copy from MagCloud.
