In Bologna, there is an ancient osteria where you can bring your own food

Vicolo Ranocchi is a narrow little alley that connects via degli Orefici and via Pescherie Vecchie. We are in the ancient Quadrilatero market of Bologna, right behind Piazza Maggiore, where food shops today alternate with rather glamorous clothing stores, a few tourist-trap eateries, and some quality places that draw hundreds of people daily: many – but not all – visitors, casual patrons, a few locals looking for a glass of wine after shopping. The delicatessens of Bologna the fat are an invitation to sample cured meats and cheeses, and many shopkeepers don’t hold back from transforming themselves from grocers into innkeepers, thanks to a few strategically placed stools at the edges of alleys where one must often slalom through. At certain times, a small army of charcuterie boards competes for space with crates of fruit and vegetables and fresh fish on display, ready to be cooked and eaten on the spot or on the go. The Quadrilatero is, in short, a tangle of lively and chaotic little streets, with a characteristic – though now somewhat touristy – atmosphere, leading up to the doorstep of Osteria del Sole, in that alley which once hosted frog vendors. Inside, everything changes. Not because it's immune to the flows of curious passers-by and tourists, but because the identity of this place dilutes any outside incursion into over 500 years of history, without ever letting itself be contaminated.

Photo from the archive Bolognachecambia

Osteria del Sole

Founded in 1465, Osteria del Sole is probably one of the oldest taverns in Italy, perhaps in the world, and certainly in Bologna. Hidden behind a nondescript glass door with pale frames, the sign simply reads Vino – wine – and the place is a concentration of diverse humanity. Young professionals in jackets and ties, families, labourers, groups of university students, solitary customers, a few slightly shabby characters from past times, groups of chatty friends, couples in love, young and old, foreigners arriving in dribs and drabs. Inside, there’s everything, because Osteria del Sole welcomes everyone without being affected, an unbothered monument to life and merriment. “Those who don’t drink are kindly asked to remain outside” reads the sign on the door, and it's unclear whether it’s meant as a joke or to avoid overcrowding from those who just want to take a look, or from those who’d like to make use of a chair, table, and a roof over their head to peacefully eat their meal. Their own meal, literally. Here, no food is served, but everyone can bring their own. Whether it's a bundle bought at the market or a packed lunch prepared at home doesn’t matter – everyone provides for themselves: “And that’s why you eat well at the Sole and no one’s ever complained,” they joke. Their job is the drink: white wines, reds, sparkling wines, some Champagne and fortified wines. There's also some beer – nothing else. “We always say that we don’t even wash glasses with water,” says Chiara Spolaore, who adds: “The old regulars from back in the day, who’d show up from the morning, would grumble if the glass wasn’t full to the brim” – and so even today, the small stemmed glasses are filled to the edge, and not spilling a drop seems like the test you must pass to be admitted here.

The Spolaore family story

Now in the third generation running the place, which her family took over in 1945, she tells the story: “My grandmother Adele’s brother, Uncle Aldo Canazza, used to race bicycles but never won. One time, after seeing the Osteria, he said if he ever won a race, he’d use the prize money to buy the licence. He only won once in his life, and he kept his word, bringing the family here to Bologna from Stanghella, near Padua.” At first, they even lived inside the Osteria. It was probably the only time food was ever sold: “Because sometimes my grandmother, when she cooked, would make extra hard-boiled eggs or pasta to earn a little more.” But tradition dictates that only drinks are sold here, and even the eggs disappeared – apparently after one too lively evening. People come in, order at the bar, and sit at one of the big communal tables or the smaller ones. Everything is very simple, basic, but welcoming, light-hearted, lively. Years passed like this, and from one generation to the next, in 2009, upon the death of their father Luciano Spolaore, Chiara took over with her brother Nicola and cousin Federico, leaving their former lives to run the tavern. And so it was, and probably will be for the generations to come.

Photo from the archive Bolognachecambia

Pascoli, Rodrigo, and the Roversi room

The courtyard, once a storeroom, has been fitted with tables, and a few years ago another bar was added at the far end of the Osteria, now used mainly for spritz – the only nod to modernity. “My father won it in a card game a long time ago from the owner of the Rodrigo restaurant, who maybe wanted to get rid of it, so we call it Rodrigo.” The venue is a sequence of rooms hidden among the buildings of the old market, like the Roversi room, dedicated to Fabio Roversi Monaco, former rector of the University of Bologna and president of the Carisbo Foundation, who helped save the Osteria: “In the summer of 2009, the owner wanted to sell it for a price that was out of reach for us. Roversi had the Foundation buy it, allowing us to continue our work by paying rent.” This is just one of the many stories the Osteria holds, like the tale of how Giovanni Pascoli was allegedly arrested here in 1879, aligned like many with the socialist cause; or how, in the early 1980s, Luciano was the region’s top Krug seller – confirmed by another of the signs: Entry reserved for those drinking wine, beer, champagne! There are countless stories of legendary evenings or of the many home-grown or international stars either welcomed or turned away, depending on Luciano’s mood – a gruff but generous host, as befits a place like this: a little out of time, but part of a familiar microcosm open to all. Dogs on leads are allowed inside (The Management would prefer if they drank wine or beer too), reads the house rules of Osteria del Sole. And that says it all.