When in your trip to Venice, in Italy, you reach the St. Mark's Square, apart from visiting the great monuments that are concentrated in it, such as the St Mark's Basilica, Ducal Palace or the Campanile Tower, you have to take a walk around the square.
On this walk you will see the numerous terraces that are distributed throughout the square, and you can enjoy the pleasant atmosphere provided by the classical music which chamber groups perform in the little pavilions that are on some of these terraces.
Likewise, you should walk under the arcades of St. Mark's Square and you will discover historic cafes that go back to eighteenth century, and that show us striking period decoration.
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Historic cafes in San Marco, Venice
These cafes with their terraces on the large esplanade become outstanding meeting and rest points.
Florián, the oldest cafe in Italy
For example, the Cafe Florian, who opened in 1720 has the reputation of being the oldest in Italy.
The terrace of Cafe Florian It is one of these backwater places where you can listen to music, but it is in its beautiful interior where we find meaning in the great fame it has achieved.
Organized with small private rooms open to the arcaded plaza, we see the decoration typical of a 18th century coffee which gives it that traditional atmosphere.
When we sit down to have a coffee in one of these old-style rooms, we can still feel the presence of some of the illustrious clients who have frequented the Cafe Florian throughout history, as writers Proust y Dickens in the XIX century.
Of course, it may be one of the most expensive coffees you can pay in the world, with truly crazy prices.
Café Quadri, meeting place for illustrious people
Or the Cafe Quadri, which has also been frequented by illustrious historical figures.
La history of Café Quadri dates back to 1775, when the Venetian Giorgio Quadri established this cafe in the St. Mark's Square at a time when coffee consumption was very fashionable in the city of Venice.
In fact, at that time in Venice there were more than 200 cafes, and 30 of them in St. Mark's Square itself.
In 1830 the Café Quadri was restored and the rooms with restaurants on the upper floor were opened.
Today, it continues to maintain the style and decoration characteristic of an 18th century cafe.
As with the nearby Café Florian, Café Quadri has been frequented by illustrious people throughout its history.
It is said that, for example, Lord Byron, Balzac, Marcel Proust, Alexandre Dumas y Richard Wagner.
Currently, the Cafe Quadri It is one of the places frequented by actors and directors who attend the Venice Film Festival, as has been the case of Woody Allen, Robin Williams, Brad Pitt, Robert de Niro, and in the past, Marcelo Mastroniani o Anthony Quinn.
When we sit in the Café Quadri terrace (Knowing that a coffee will cost us crazy, we can enjoy the classical music that is performed live during the day from their nightstands.
If we look at St. Mark's Square from the Basilica, Cafe Quadri We find it in the arcades on the right.
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