Antico Caffè Greco

Via dei Condotti is the most elegant and exclusive street in Rome, and is home to the largest Italian and international brands. If you’re going to take a break on your way to the Spanish Steps, the Antico Caffè Greco is the place to stop.

Founded in 1760 by Nicola di Madalena, a Levantine coffee maker (hence the name), over time it became a cultural cenaculum; a meeting place for all kinds of intellectuals and artists. Place your lips on the exquisite cups with the Cafe’s logo, and taste the excellent espresso blend, surrounded by over 300 works of art: it is the world’s largest private art gallery open to the public. Art has found a very special space in this maze of rooms and corridors, with their now renowned Pompeian red walls, gray marble tables, velvet chairs, liberty and deco lamps, and mirrors with gold frames. 

On the walls of the famous Omnibus Room, there’s a collection of medallions, miniatures, and plaster plaques, which testify to the visits of illustrious guests such as Bizet, Baudelaire, Byron, D’Annunzio, Goethe, Joyce, Leopardi, Nietzsche, Silvio Pellico, and even Buffalo Bill and Sitting Bull. 

It is an emblem of international Rome, and for over 250 years, it has been a place where thinkers, politicians, and rulers have found privacy for their meetings, and where the most brilliant minds have found inspiration. So, put your shopping bags down and sit on the vintage Andersen sofa, waiting to be welcomed by impeccable mastery and hospitality, in the imaginary company of Giorgio De Chirico, who loved saying that "The Caffè Greco is the best place to wait for the end of the world."