Caffe Di Simo (former Cafe Caselli), Lucca

Caffè Di Simo is a historic café in the heart of Lucca, on Fillungo Street (Via Fillungo), renowned for its deep-rooted connection to the city's artistic and intellectual life. Established in 1846 as Caffè Caselli, it became a cultural hub under Alfredo Caselli, an influential patron of the arts and a close friend of Giacomo Puccini. Caselli inherited the café and its adjoining spice shop from his father, Carlo Caselli, and transformed it into a meeting place for musicians, poets, and painters.

By the early 20th century, the café was a key gathering point for Italian artistic Bohemia, frequented by notable figures such as Alfredo Catalani, Gaetano Luporini, Giovanni Pascoli, Gino Custer De Nobili, Lorenzo Viani, and Gustavo Giovannetti. Many of these friendships were forged through Caselli, whose relationship with Puccini was particularly strong—he often traveled across Europe to attend the composer’s opera premieres.

In 1921, after Caselli’s passing, the Di Simo brothers took over the establishment, giving it the name it still bears today. The café retained its legacy as a literary and artistic salon, commemorated by a plaque installed in 1958 honoring its illustrious guests.

Today, Antico Caffè Di Simo remains largely unchanged from its golden era, preserving its Art Nouveau charm with its dark wood paneling, curved glass windows, and a distinctive gold-lettered sign. Inside, a marble-topped bar, elegant boiseries, and period prints of medieval Lucca set the scene for refined coffee tastings, exquisite pastries, and fine wines. Once a place for cultured conversation, chess games, and cigar-smoking intellectuals, the café continues to be a cherished part of Lucca’s heritage—a living monument to the city’s artistic past.