Caffè degli Specchi

Opened in 1839 inside Palazzo Stratti, built by the Greek born merchant Niccolò Stratti, Caffè degli Specchi is the last of four historic cafes that once ringed what was then Piazza Grande, now Piazza Unità d'Italia, still in business. It became the city's real salon for much of the 19th century, a meeting point for merchants, intellectuals, and artists that counted Italo Svevo and James Joyce among its regulars, and hosted concerts once directed by a young Franz Lehár.

The name comes from an old habit of engraving major historical events onto the cafe's mirrored panels, specchi meaning mirrors. Every coffee here still arrives with a small glass of chocolate on the side, a house tradition. Still family run today, with the best seats in the city for watching the gulf from just outside the door on a sunny afternoon.