The Antica Birreria Peroni, the only historic establishment of its kind in the capital, can be said to be living in the odour of sanctity.
It is greeted by Via di S. Marcello which, to the careless and hurried passer-by, may look like one of Rome's many narrow streets. Its sanpietrini, however, tell stories of martyrdom and miracles.
Originally destined to be the Catabulum, the station of the Roman post office where the horses and post couriers' cars were stabled and where the pontiff St. Marcellus was subjected to the most degrading work, it took on a sacredness of its own over time. On the ruins of the stables, a church was erected dedicated to the Holy Martyr Pontiff with the façade on the opposite side of the present one and from which the street takes its name.
In 1519, a fire destroyed the church, which was rebuilt with its façade on Via del Corso. Also built on the demolished Palazzo Costa was the Galleria S. Marcello, which joined the street to Via del Corso. In the gallery, now owned by the Bank of Rome and no longer passable, one can admire the ancient baptismal font of the pre-existing church.
In 1669, an image of the Virgin, which was depicted in a shrine, moved the street. At that time, the Marquise Lavarelli Papazzurri's family built the smallest existing Marian shrine, which is now known as the Madonna dell'Archetto.
On this foundation of sanctity, a beer and ice store was established in the early 1900s, which would later give rise to today's Antica Birreria Peroni.
The transformation began in the 1920s: the painter Albani frescoed the rooms, including the last one, where the bell ropes of the adjacent church still existed. The quotations that can be read there were the work of Count Salviucci, a member of the Vatican Academy of Sciences.
An inexplicable fact occurred during the frescoing of the walls: on the small arch separating the bell room from the others, a mysterious symbol appeared which, despite the painter's efforts, always reappeared. A fact that at the time gave rise to indecipherable esotericism. In any case, a radical masonry intervention solved the problem.
The Antica Birreria Peroni was just beginning its long journey.
Concrete tubs were placed in the present entrance to hold beer bottles, which were covered with finely crushed ice and a large cloth to keep out the cold.
Frequent patrons were given, as a sign of kindness, a numbered mug where they could enjoy the beer in a personalised and exclusive way. The ice and beer, delivered by cart around the area, had only one origin: the Antica Birreria Peroni.
On this foundation of sanctity, a beer and ice store was established in the early 1900s, which would later give rise to the present Antica Birreria Peroni.
The transformation began in the 1920s: the painter Albani frescoed the rooms, including the last one, where the bell ropes of the adjacent church still existed. The quotations that can be read there were the work of Count Salviucci, a member of the Vatican Academy of Sciences.
An inexplicable fact occurred during the frescoing of the walls: on the small arch separating the bell room from the others, a mysterious symbol appeared which, despite the painter's efforts, always reappeared. A fact that at the time gave rise to indecipherable esotericism. In any case, a radical masonry intervention solved the problem.
The Antica Birreria Peroni was just beginning its long journey.
Concrete tubs were placed in the present entrance to hold beer bottles, which were covered with finely crushed ice and a large cloth to keep out the cold.
Frequent patrons were given, as a sign of kindness, a numbered mug where they could enjoy the beer in a personalised and exclusive way. The ice and beer, delivered by cart around the area, had only one origin: the Antica Birreria Peroni.
Now in Via S. Marcello resounded the thunderous gait of the mighty Hungarian horses transporting the barrels, full of the blond beverage, that would start the birth of the famous draught beer.
We are now in a present formed in the shadow of the solid roots of tradition. The journey through the history of the Antica Birreria Peroni is over. Look around, let your imagination run wild, and in the antique scent of wood you can relive that mysterious and fascinating past.
