Private Florence wine windows guided tour through secrets and legends

The buchette del vino - wine windows - are small rectangular or arched openings carved into the stone walls of Renaissance noble palaces in Florence, just large enough to pass a bottle or glass of wine through. They were first used from the 16th century by aristocratic Florentine families who wanted to sell wine from their Tuscan estates directly to street customers, bypassing the merchants' guild entirely. The most active and historically significant wine windows are concentrated in the Oltrarno neighborhood — particularly along Via de' Bardi, Via dello Sprone, and Borgo San Jacopo - as well as in the streets around Palazzo Antinori near the Duomo. Several have been lovingly restored and are once again serving wine, prosecco, and even gelato to passers-by. On the Florencetown Private Florence Exploration, your private guide takes you to the most fascinating wine windows in the city and tells the full story behind each one.

Yes, both are true, and it is one of the most remarkable stories in Florence's long history. During the catastrophic bubonic plague of 1630, the wine windows' design proved ideal for contactless transactions: wine was passed through the tiny opening, coins were disinfected in vinegar before exchange, and no physical contact between seller and buyer was necessary. The windows fell out of regular use over the following centuries as wine shops became universal. Then, in March 2020, when COVID-19 lockdowns forced Florence's bars and restaurants to close, several Florentine establishments with historic wine windows in their walls realized they could legally serve wine and food to the street through the tiny openings, exactly as their predecessors had done in 1630. The story was picked up worldwide, and the buchette del vino became an international symbol of Florentine ingenuity and resilience across the centuries. The Florencetown Private Florence Exploration brings this living history to life on the streets where it happened.

Florence's most authentic and characterful corners are often just a few streets away from the main tourist circuits. The most rewarding hidden neighborhoods include: San Frediano, a working-class Oltrarno district with artisan leather workshops, neighborhood bars, and a genuine Florentine atmosphere almost completely unchanged by tourism; Santo Spirito, a beautiful, shaded piazza surrounded by local bars and restaurants that fills with Florentines at aperitivo time; Borghetto, a cluster of medieval tower houses that survived the WWII destruction of the area near Ponte Vecchio; the streets around Piazza dei Ciompi, the site of Florence's famous 14th-century wool workers' revolt, now home to an antique market; and the lanes of the San Marco district, where Dominican friars and Renaissance painters once walked. The Florencetown Private Florence Exploration is built around discovering these places with a private expert guide, the tour adapts to your pace and curiosity, going deeper wherever your interest is greatest.

Both formats have their appeal, a group tour brings energy, the chance to meet fellow travellers, and excellent value. A private tour simply offers a different kind of experience: you have the guide entirely to yourself, which means the pace is set by you rather than by a group. You can linger longer at the spots that fascinate you, ask as many questions as you like, and move on when you are ready, without the inevitable logistical rhythm of collective travel. There are no compromises in timing, no waiting for the group to reassemble, and the conversation between you and the guide stays focused and personal throughout. For couples, families with children, or a small group of friends who want to explore Florence together in their own bubble, a private experience simply feels more natural and relaxed. The Florencetown Private Florence Exploration with Wine Windows Stops is designed for exactly this: an unhurried, genuinely personal encounter with the city.

The Medici legacy in Florence is not confined to museums, it is woven into the fabric of the city at street level, in ways most visitors walk past without noticing. The family that bankrolled the Renaissance and ruled Florence for three centuries left behind not just the Uffizi and Palazzo Pitti, but a city shaped by their ambition: the Vasari Corridor (the elevated private walkway they built above the streets to move between their palaces unseen), the wine windows built into their noble allies' palaces to sell Tuscan wine to the street, the heraldic balls of the Medici coat of arms carved above doorways across the historic center, the gardens and fountains they commissioned as symbols of power, and the churches they endowed to ensure their immortality in stone. Even the Ponte Vecchio's exclusive goldsmith shops were a Medici decision - Grand Duke Ferdinando I expelled the butchers in 1593 and reserved the bridge for jewellers, whose trade was more fitting for the corridor overhead. On the Florencetown Private Florence Exploration, your guide reads these layers of Medici presence in the streets as you walk, turning the city into a living story.

For bookings from 1 to 8 people: 8 DAYS Cancellation policy. Full penalty applies for cancellations in the last 7 DAYS prior to tour departure and no-shows.
For bookings up to 9 people: availability and cancellation policy ON REQUEST.