The Caffè Cova is one of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, Italy's oldest pastry shops,

delicatessen Traditionally, a delicatessen or deli is a retail establishment that sells a selection of fine, exotic, or foreign prepared foods. Delicatessen originated in Germany (original: ) during the 18th century and spread to the United States in the m ...

s and

coffeehouse A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

s, today property of the French group Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. Founded in 1817 by a soldier, Antonio Cova near the

Teatro alla Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

, since 1950 situated in the fashionable

Via Montenapoleone Via Monte Napoleone, also spelled Via Montenapoleone, is an upscale shopping street in Milan, Italy, Europe's most expensive street (2022) and the third most expensive street in the world . It is famous for its ready-to-wear fashion and jewelry sho ...

, part of Milan's ''

quadrilatero della moda The ''Quadrilatero della moda'' (; literally "fashion square"), or Via Montenapoleone fashion district, is a high-class shopping district in the centre of the Italian city of Milan, characterised by the presence of numerous boutiques and related re ...

'' or ''fashion quadrilateral''.History
, Caffè Cova.

History

Beginnings

Founded by veteran Antonio Cova in 1817, the ''Caffè'' was an important place for socialization and the meeting of the ''Milano bene'', or the Milanese upper-class citizens, and it was a haunt for intellectuals, artists, musicians, academics, writers, politicians and journalists.

Unification of Italy

The

cafe A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

became an important place during the ''

cinque giornate di Milano The Five Days of Milan ( ) was an insurrection and a major event in the Revolutionary Year of 1848 that started the First Italian War of Independence. On 18 March, a rebellion arose in the city of Milan, and in five days of street fighting ...

'' during March 1848, when several of the foreigners were expelled from the coffeehouse itself.

Post-World War II (1950-1990)

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the Cova establishment and the nearby La Scala were devastatingly affected by the 1943 bombings of Milan. Ever since then, in 1950, the ''pasticceria'' transferred itself to the Via Montenapoleone, in the North-Eastern central part of the city.

Modern age and today (1990-)

Ever since the 1990s, the Caffè began to open

franchises Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, the most notable of which was the

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

Caffè Cova,Caffè Cova
Hong Kong. which opened in the city in 1993. In 1997, the Caffè Cova opened a delicatessen aboard the American ''Celebrity Cruises'', further spreading the institution's influence around the world. Today, the Milan Caffè Cova still maintains its aristocratic atmosphere, and remains common place for the wealthier Milanese to drink an

espresso Espresso (, ) is a coffee-brewing method of Italian origin, in which a small amount of nearly boiling water (about ) is forced under of pressure through finely-ground coffee beans. Espresso can be made with a wide variety of coffee beans and ...

or cappucino, but it has also become popular with tourists and shoppers on the Via Montenapoleone alike. The delicatessen is also well known for its different pastries and rich selection of cakes, including

wedding cake A wedding cake is the traditional cake served at wedding receptions following dinner. In some parts of England, the wedding cake is served at a wedding breakfast; the 'wedding breakfast' does not mean the meal will be held in the morning, but at ...

s. In

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

they sell the products with the association of Miryam Camhi, a traditional Colombian Bakery, only at the

Centro Andino The Centro Andino is a shopping mall located in the El Retiro neighborhood of Bogotá, Colombia. It is one of the largest shopping malls in Bogota and in South America in general. Andino is made up of a business center and a shopping mall. Th ...

store. As of August 2015, the historical Montenapoleone location is undergoing renovations after the acquisition by

LVMH LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French holding multinational corporation and conglomerate specializing in luxury goods, headquartered in Paris. The company was formed in 1987 through the merger of fashion house ...

in 2013.

References

External links

Caffè Cova, Hong Kong website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caffe Cova 1817 establishments in the Austrian Empire Restaurants in Milan Tourist attractions in Milan Tourist attractions in Hong Kong Coffeehouses and cafés in Italy Culture in Milan LVMH brands