Craftsmanship you can taste
Many visitors of our website asked us: what is the meaning of "Bene Vobis"?
"Bene" is Italian, "vobis" is latin: it means "good to you", it is my "welcome!" to all guests.
When did you open Bene Vobis?
It was exactely ten years ago... At first we offered wine and cold plates with assorted cheese and ham, salami - then we started offering typical Tuscan recipes too ... and Bene Vobis grew up!
Why did you choose Oltrarno?
Because here I found the most genuine heart of Florence: there are still so many artisans, you can still find a way of life that has almost disappeared in other quarters of Florence...
Well ... at first it was not easy at all ... I am from Gavinana [a quarter outside the ancient city wall], and after all it is a part of Oltrarno too, but Florentine wit is so strong here that people regarded me as a stranger...
But in Oltrarno I found an unique atmosphere, and I strive to keep it alive not only in the most known squares like Piazza Santo Spirito but also in lesser-known streets like Via dei Serragli and the lanes surrounding it.
because of this atmosphere I think Oltrarno is the right place for offering to tourists (and to florentines, too!) good wine and good food: both are parts of our tradition, of our culture, together with the art we encounter in museums and in the streets...
What is more important: good wine ... or good food?
They are both important, they complete each other: a good meal requires a good wine - but wait: "a good wine" does not mean an expensive wine! To drink is a matter of taste, it means enter the culture of wine: understanding the food, and which wine is the most appropriate for your meal...
That is what we do here: offering a menu means to offer a bit of florentine culture - like putting on display an object created with your hands...
Then you are an artisan too!
Oh, yes! Striving for perfection, paying attention to every detail ... keeping alive ancient traditions ... All this is very important for me: these are right the same things artisans find important too!
An artisan creates unique objects. Sure, he can make ten "copies" of something, but they will be all different, and I think a good meal must be prepared this way. Here at Bene Vobis we prepare pasta with our hands, and cookies too ... It is a real pleasure for us to create something that is always different...
And then: the pride of carrying on a tradition not only in the working methods but also in the materials - well, the ingredients! - we use... In these season for example we make dumplings of chestnut flour, we offer dishes like rosticciana (pork ribs) with cabbage: we always offer recipes with seasonal ingredients that remind us of the phases of the year.
There is one more thing we share with artisans: the confidence of our clients. Sometimes you hear a guilder or a woodcarver saying "after five years that lady came back to my workshop...": at Bene Vobis there are many guests who come back from all the world - even after many years! - because they understood the meaning of what they can find here - and this is the greatest satisfaction for us!
You are an optimist artisan, then...
Sure! It is because of this that I do this job!
What do you see in Oltrarno's future?
I am optimist: maybe it will be a long way, but I think people from Oltrarno (even strangers born in Gavinana!) will be able to offer things that are ancient and new at the same time, creating bounds with people from all countries. All in all this is what Oltrarno has always done!
