Antico Caffè Di Simo

This guide to Antico Caffè Di Simo in Lucca follows one marble counter from eighteen forty-six, when Carlo Caselli opened it as a simple grocer's café, to the era of his son Alfredo, who turned it into a gathering place for Lucca's artists. You'll hear about Alfredo's devotion to the young composer Giacomo Puccini, whom he adopted as a friend and would travel across Europe to see performed. Other regulars leaning on the same counter included the poet Giovanni Pascoli, the composer Pietro Mascagni, and librettist Giuseppe Giacosa. Look for the bronze plaque near the door that still lists the names this counter collected.