The oldest tavern in the world is called "Al Brindisi" and is located in Ferrara. A narrow alley beside the cathedral, a history of almost six hundred years that earned it a mention in the Guinness Book of Records. The tavern already existed in 1435, when it was called "Hostaria del Chiuchiolino." At that time it was reached by boat from today's Via degli Adelardi, then Via del Gorgadello precisely because it was near a small inlet. As already mentioned at the time, the place was known as "Osteria del Chiucchiolino," a recurring name in several Italian cities of that time, since "chiucchiolino" derives from "chiù," whose contracted expression recalls the term "ciucco," a synonym for drunk.
Famous people who frequented it include:Benvenuto Cellini, Tiziano Vecellio, Ludovico Torquato Tasso. Even Ariosto remembers this place in his comedy entitled "La Lena."
Also staying above the tavern was Nicolò Copernico, the famous Polish scientist who graduated from the University of Ferrara, where he began to elaborate his revolutionary astronomical theory under Domenico Navara.
