There are places in every city, witnesses of particular moments or entire epochs of the life of the city itself. The Coffee Constants is for Arezzo one of these places. Located in the historic center, the Coffee has seen Arezzo go from Grand Ducal Tuscany to united Italy.
It was opened in 1804, in the reduction of the Academic Civilization of the Constants, and as such is almost inaccessible to the public, being able to attend only Academic Members Founders and nobles of the most important families. In the years following the Unification of Italy, the Café definitively ceased to be an exclusive place of the Academy, and became a lively meeting place open to all citizens. A further turning point for the city and the Café came with the train: in 1886 the railway station was inaugurated, and the current Via Guido Monaco was opened to connect it with the city centre. The façade of the Café is no longer closed off by a narrow alley, but looks out onto the new Piazza San Francesco, which becomes Arezzo’s "salotto buono" (good living room), with its small tables under a large sunshade and its gas lamps. The Café now wants to attract passers-by, transforming itself into Caffè Chantant and at the beginning of the century it also becomes a restaurant.
In 1936 it was taken over by the Bianconi family, ice cream makers with a long tradition, who were able to enhance not only ice cream but also pastry making, making their desserts such as the "Gattò" famous, made exclusively by hand from old recipes.After the Second World War, with the frantic resumption of reconstruction, the Café remains with its discreet splendor of mirrors, stuccoes of illustrious Aretines, red marble tables and wooden furniture in environments that smell of chocolate and sorbets, coffee and pastries enjoyed unhurriedly among friends for the pleasure of a break and a meeting.
In 1997 the Café was chosen as the setting for some scenes of Roberto Benigni’s film "Life is Beautiful", Special Jury Prize at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival and winner of three Oscar Awards. This event, besides making Arezzo and the Caffè dei Costanti known all over the world, gave birth to a new speciality of the Caffè, the ice-cream cup "La vita è bella".
