The neighbourhood osteria that is bringing back sociability to the heart of Florence by making strangers meet

Two glasses of red wine, a bottle brought from home and the courage to sit next to a stranger. In Oltrarno, Florence, where once the sound of hammer blows from the workshops echoed, today reigns a different kind of silence: that of isolation. The historic artisans’ quarter has been transformed under the shockwave of overtourism, and neighbours, whose names and surnames were once well known, have become invisible. Yet, among these overlapping solitudes, someone has decided to react. That someone is Meno, a wine bar with kitchen that every Tuesday evening, on its closing day, opens its doors to anyone who wants to join a party among strangers. A moment when everyone can bring a dish, a bottle, or simply themselves.

The story of the bar that becomes a village

The owner, Massimo, took over the place about a year ago, when he returned to Florence after a long period spent elsewhere. From the very beginning he wanted to try ringing the doorbells of everyone living in the area, breaking the ice in a neighbourhood, San Floriano, where ties are breaking. “It all started from a simple idea,” he tells Gambero Rosso, “to get people out of their homes, especially the elderly, young people with disabilities, those without family or who spend too much time alone. Everyone brings something to drink or eat, nobody pays. You unplug and you are together.” What initially began as a monthly appointment gradually gained more and more ground, becoming a popular weekly event. “Last time there were a hundred of us,” he exclaims.

The reasons for its success

The formula is elementary: no booking, no fixed menu. And as in old-school osterias, everyone can bring their own wine from home. A successful format, which has surprised even its creator: “People come for the initiative, but above all to meet, to feel part of something in a neighbourhood that struggles to stay alive,” he explains to us. “So many people live alone, the desire people have to chat with someone is incredible. We have created a new space, a place where you can once again be close, even if you didn’t know each other before.”

Among those who attend the evenings there are those who discovered the place by chance, and those who came through word of mouth in the neighbourhood. An initiative, born as an experiment, that is giving back to the Florentine quarter beyond the Arno a sense of belonging and authentic connection with others. “Greeting people, exchanging words, the desire to tell what has happened to you is a vital need, stronger than any other,” stresses the host. For him, the wine bar is something more than just a bar. It is a collective home, a small village within cities that are often depersonalising. A place where one can go back to looking each other in the eye, where hospitality opens a door, every Tuesday, to those still seeking a little bit of sociability in the heart of Florence.