“Wine windows” in Florence and a handful of nearby locales date to a time when nobles were granted a concession to sell their wine in sizes no larger than the aperture through which commerce was transacted. They came in handy during times of plague, and some are being used again during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Tuscany, Renaissance-Era Wine Windows Are Made For Social Distancing, by Sylvia Poggioli (NPR)
At the Vivoli café, an artisanal ice cream landmark, its tiny window had long been boarded up, says Giulia Gori, daughter of the owner.
“But during the lockdown, we started using it again,” she says. When the Italian government allowed restaurants and cafés to take orders to go, the café started offering takeout. “The customer rings the bell, places an order and we put the ice cream cup on the sill, avoiding direct contact with the customer.”
It’s not exactly curbside pickup, but is as close as can be approximated in a centuries-old city not designed for cars …
