This story is part of the Register’s special issue on coffee. Read more articles here.
When you are in the Eternal City … and need some coffee:
Latteria Giuliani: 100 Years of Memories
The neighborhood around the Vatican is called the Borgo, which comes from the German word burg, meaning “village.” This is because the Saxon king camped there on pilgrimage — in fact, there is a church and a hospital called Santo Spirito in Sassia, meaning “Holy Spirit in the Saxons.”
This neighborhood is one of Rome’s oldest districts, where in years past tables would be set up in the streets and neighbors would gather together for Sunday meals. This was especially true along Borgo Pio, a street that is now solely for pedestrians which runs from Porta Sant’Anna, one of the entrances to Vatican City State, toward Castel Sant’Angelo.
And, in the center of this street, one landmark for caffè (coffee) seekers has stood for more than a century: the Giuliani café and dairy, known as “La Latteria.”
Like many Roman cafés, La Latteria was once primarily dedicated to the sale of milk (latteria literally means “dairy”).
To this day, the establishment has retained its marble tables, a
