Curious, detail-loving travellers will without doubt have noticed some tiny windows in the walls of Florence’s historic palazzi. These are the buche del vino, little apertures which, from the seventeenth century onwards, served as an exchange-point for vineyard owners and their clients. Everyday Florentine citizens, however, also came to the buche in order to buy flasks filled with the precious nectar. These flasks were no more complex than a simple glass container, with a bottom specially cushioned in order to guard against unwanted scratching during transportation.
The wine sold through these niches came at a good price, lower than what one could buy in an osteria. Today, many of the buche are sadly walled up, but some are still recognisable and identified by a little plaque underneath. In this itinerary we recommend that you visit the buche in via delle Terme, via De’ Bentaccordi, Piazza dei Peruzzi, via Torta, via dell’Isola delle Stinche, and on the wall of Palazzo Pitti.