Story

Story

OUR STORY

“What about taking over the restaurant?”. Caprarella brothers were astonished. It was 1995, and they were working there only from a couple of years. That proposal left them speechless. For more than twenty years La Grotta Guelfa and Angiolino used to be one and the same, but now that gentle hard-working man was offering his beloved creature to them. After a couple sleepless nights, Giuseppe, Roberto and Pasquale gathered their courage and accepted the offer. Since then, La Grotta Guelfa started its successful path based on excellence and research, values that inspire also the current owners Stefano, Antonella and Roberto Carlo.

 

 

GUELPH PALACE

The restaurant is located inside the ancient Guelph Captains Palace. In fact, during the second half of XIII century a military and political clash between Guelphs and Ghibellines took place, and the formers won it. Following this victory, the Palace situated in Via Pellicceria became the headquarter of the “Captains”, as to say the figures in charge of administrating the properties confiscated from Ghibellines. Today the Guelph Palace includes also a library and a hall dedicated to Florence’s “Calcio Storico” (“historic football”).

 

 

HISTORIC FOOTBALL

The origin of Florence’s “Calcio Storico” is traced in a game played during the Roman period called “Harpastum”: two opposite teams were fighting and brawling between each other trying to conquer the ball. In the Middle Ages this sport started to become popular, but it was during Renaissance that its epic reached the peak. Several games were organized to celebrate Carnivals or highborn marriages, and even some young members of the de’ Medici family and other noble houses participated as proper players. Nowadays, Florence’s Historic Football take place every June during San Giovanni celebrations, the patron saint of Florence.