Dominating all Florence, the splendid building by the city planner Giuseppe Poggi was designed in 1865 as a museum in the project for Viale dei Colli and Piazzale Michelangelo. For dinner or drinks, it was a favourite of Massimo d’Azeglio and of Baron Bettino Ricasoli, the creator of Chianti. In 1916 it was an arena for Marinetti, the father of Futurism, who filmed an episode of the now untraceable movie “Vita Futurista”. Papini, Soffici, Spadolini, and Bargellini, leading lights of Italian culture, all chose it for their meetings.
