Smart-tour: journeys through culture via the time machin

At the end of the 19th century, Paris was the symbol of entertainment and carefree living, thanks in part to the Café-chantant. This “invention” took hold on this side of the Alps, especially in Naples, where the golden age of café-concert coincided with that of Neapolitan song. In fact, the Salone Margherita was founded in 1890 in the Galleria Umberto, thanks to the entrepreneurial foresight of the Marino brothers, who understood the importance of combining a profitable commercial activity with the charm of live performances. This is a business idea that Loups Garoux has always believed in and wants to revive in Naples, inextricably linked to the history of coffee as a beverage. The term “caffè” derives from the Arabic qahwa (exciting), which later became kahve in Turkey, the land from which it then arrived in Europe. The plant, native to Ethiopia, spread first to Arabia and then to Turkey. But it was Vienna, above all, that appreciated this black drink so much that at the end of the 17th century it dedicated the Kaffeehaus (the refined Viennese cafés) to it.

Coffee became popular in Naples thanks to a woman, Maria Carolina of Habsburg, daughter of Maria Theresa, who married King Ferdinand IV of Bourbon in 1768. The young queen wanted to introduce Viennese customs and traditions to the court, promoting the consumption of coffee. The drink, brought by Venetian merchants, had already been known in Naples for some time, but it was thought to bring bad luck because of its black colour. The Church even considered it the devil’s drink, which is why it had not become widespread. It is said that in 1771, a ball was organised at the Royal Palace of Caserta where coffee was served by what were probably the first baristas, dressed in jackets and white hats: the first café in the Kingdom of Naples was born. Along with coffee, Maria Carolina also brought kipferl (croissants) to the Neapolitan city: the successful combination of coffee and croissants was recommended to her by her sister Marie Antoinette of France. From that moment on, Naples excelled in the preparation of coffee, thanks to the use of a particular roasting method for the beans, which gave the drink a rich flavour.

After 1820, the cocumella (the Neapolitan coffee maker invented by the Frenchman Morize in 1819) arrived in Neapolitan homes, introducing the drink into popular culture. The cocumella alternated between the Turkish method of preparation by decoction and the Venetian method of infusion, with a double filter system. In 1900, the “espresso machine” was adopted, which was very difficult to use, but the Neapolitans quickly became skilled masters. Neapolitan espresso was born. This is just one of the many stories that explain how coffee arrived in Naples and why it became a cult. Another story features the musicologist Pietro Della Valle and dates back to the early 1600s, while yet another features Alfonso d’Aragona, who recounts the presence of coffee in Naples as early as 1450. What is certain is that Naples only began to appreciate the bitter drink in the early 1800s, with street vendors travelling the length and breadth of the city equipped with a container of coffee and one of milk, and a basket with cups and sugar, to offer a quick breakfast to the most hurried Neapolitans.

Another certainty is that Naples’ kaffeaus became important cultural centres for intellectuals and reached their peak in popularity in the 1800s, joining forces with the cafés-chantants and even copying the French model in the language used: posters, menus and even artists’ contracts were written in French. The waiters in livery spoke French, as did the spectators: the artists used names such as Sciantosa, in honour of the Parisian stars and celebrities. It is clear that the clientele who flocked to the Salone Margherita were not ordinary people: in any case, to cater to a wide range of tastes, other café-concerts sprang up, such as the Gambrinus Partenope, the Sala Napoli and others, which often modelled themselves, even in their names, on the Parisian café-chantants. Other bars in Naples, which in the past did not present shows, also adapted to the taste of the moment by presenting variety acts mixed with songs. Important and famous artists who began their careers in café-concerts included Anna Fougez, Lina Cavalieri, Lydia Johnson, Leopoldo Fregoli, Ettore Petrolini and Raffaele Viviani.

In Italy, the café-chantant became not only a place and a theatrical genre, but, as in France, a symbol of the good life and carefree living, coinciding with the Belle Époque, which was destined to end with the advent of the First World War. La Loups Garoux aims to combine the atmosphere and concept of the Grand Tour, so popular among Europeans in the 19th century, which saw Naples and the Phlegraean Fields as a key stop for visiting archaeological sites and observing natural events live, with audience development made possible by new technologies. A notable example is Goethe’s account in Italianische reise. Sommer and the evolution of the Grand Tour Who was Giorgio Sommer? A fellow countryman of Goethe, George Sommer, a German photographer, chronicled Italy like few others, thanks to his images, especially of ancient Naples and Campania. Sommer was the son of a middle-class family from Frankfurt. His parents wanted him to become an entrepreneur and enrolled him in the Faculty of Economics. However, the young Sommer had other plans: he had a keen eye for landscapes, but he could not draw. So, in 1851, when he was just twenty years old, his parents gave him his first camera. He soon decided to abandon his studies and follow his passion by working for a local studio. Photography was a brand new art form and finding work was fairly easy for a skilled technician: this is how he received his first official commission from the Swiss Confederation: the Swiss government asked him to take some photographs of mountain landscapes to study the construction of new roads and railways. It was the first step, the beginning of a career as a photographer who chronicled a world that no longer exists.

The young Georg was drawn to Italy and antiquity. It was no coincidence that he was born in the same city as Goethe and, just like his fellow countryman, he dreamed of being able to photograph the wonders of Rome and Naples for himself. After spending some time in Rome, Sommer moved to Naples in 1858 and opened a studio at Salita Chiaia 168. Sommer encountered language barriers and, at the insistence of the Neapolitans, changed his name from “Georg” to “Giorgio”. At the time, photography was something only a few people could afford. It required advanced technical skills and cumbersome machines that produced large-format negative plates. In the early days, the technique required exposures lasting 10 minutes or more to produce a single photo. This was already an incredible step forward when compared to the slowness of painting. Many “folkloric” photographs of the time were taken in studios.

Yet the technical limitations of the time did not dampen Sommer’s enthusiasm in the slightest. He took his enormous view camera with him and travelled throughout Italy to capture panoramic views, from Bologna to Venice, passing through Genoa, Milan, Florence and Rome, where he founded a company with his compatriot Edmondo Behles. The German photographer, for example, gave us many panoramas of Messina before it was destroyed by the earthquake of 1908, and his many photographs of Catania and Palermo, where he opened a branch of his studio with his son, are also invaluable. Such a rich career was soon rewarded when, in 1865, he was appointed the first official photographer of Victor Emmanuel II.

Naples remained the centre of his life and work. In his studio, he sold photographs taken during his many travels, each one created using increasingly sophisticated techniques and tools: the science of photography was advancing rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, it went from daguerreotypes to collodion, eventually arriving at the film we know today. The development of negatives was an extremely long and complex chemical process, and Sommer was also one of the pioneers of photojournalism. After every historical event, he would rush to the scene to document it with photographs. And so we have priceless images of the earthquake that destroyed Casamicciola in 1883 (the same one that led Mercalli to create the Mercalli Scale), as well as incredible historical evidence.

Sommer had an obsessive attention to detail and clean framing, which is clearly evident in his love of panoramas and wide shots. He was also a pioneer in still life photography: he worked for the National Museum, helping them to document, catalogue and sell images of the works of art on display. It was basically a way of showing others a souvenir photo of an object seen during a trip, when mobile phones, Facebook and portable cameras were unimaginable. Sommer died at the age of 79 on 7 August 1914, a few days after another German, the optician Ernst Leitz, founded Leica in Wetzlar, the company that has told the story of the world through its cameras. Sommer’s daughter, Carolina, opened the doors of her salon to the artists and writers of Naples at the same address, becoming a cultural reference point for the Neapolitan city between the two wars, where art, music and photography found a home. She immortalised her guests in a dedicated corner, creating an extraordinary document and testimony to the passage of personalities from the worlds of music, politics and great intellectuals in the European capital of culture.

A model far removed from the prosaic nature of many café-concerts, which in those years became a meeting place for cabaret singers and men in search of adventure. Carolina, on the other hand, became a cultural operator, organising guided tours from Pompeii and Herculaneum to the Phlegraean Fields, which ended in her Salotto, a forerunner of territorial and cultural marketing. Marta Bifano, Sommer’s great-granddaughter, and her partner Francesca Pedrazza Gorlero intend to recreate the evocative atmosphere of the Grand Tour by producing inclusive and innovative audio and video guides to promote tourist access to the Phlegraean Fields archaeological park. This initiative will be called Sommer Smart Tour, not only to respect the cultural heritage of one of the protagonists of Naples’ cultural history, but also to honour the innovative perspective of a curious man, a pioneer of a new technique and a new world view, and of his daughter Carolina. It is precisely at the Campi Flegrei Archaeological Park, the Campi Flegrei Archaeological Museum in the Castle of Baia, the Flavian Amphitheatre in Pozzuoli and the Archaeological Park of the Baths of Baia, the subject of the Grand Tour, that a multimedia project will be dedicated to promoting the area and its wonders in a new way, just as Carolina Sommer did in her day.

The project aims to offer culture enthusiasts, students and citizens belonging to disadvantaged groups an opportunity to enjoy culture linked primarily to the history of Sommer in Naples as the European capital of culture and its attractions, including the Campi Flegrei Archaeological Park. immediately skilled masters. It was born as an expression of Naples. This is just one of the many stories that explain how coffee arrived in Naples and why it became a cult. Another story features the musicologist Pietro Della Valle and dates back to the early 17th century, while yet another features Alfonso d’Aragona, who recounts the presence of coffee in Naples as early as 1450. What is certain is that Naples only began to appreciate the bitter drink in the early 1800s, with street coffee vendors travelling the length and breadth of the city equipped with a container of coffee and one of milk, and a basket with cups and sugar, to offer a quick breakfast to the most hurried Neapolitans. Another certainty is that the kaffeaus of Naples became important cultural centres for intellectuals and reached their peak in popularity in the 1800s, joining the cafés-chantants and even following the French model in the language used: the posters, menus and even the artists’ contracts were written in French.

The waiters in livery spoke French, as did the spectators: the artists used stage names in honour of Parisian stars and celebrities. La Loups Garoux aims to combine the atmosphere and concept of the Grand Tour, so popular among Europeans in the 19th century, which saw Naples and the Phlegraean Fields as a key stop for visiting archaeological sites and observing natural events first-hand, with audience development made possible by new technologies. Such a rich career was soon rewarded when, in 1865, he was appointed the first official photographer of Victor Emmanuel II. Naples remained the centre of his life and work. In his studio, he sold the photographs taken during his many travels, each one created with increasingly sophisticated techniques and tools: the science of photography was advancing rapidly and in the blink of an eye, it went from daguerreotype to collodion, eventually arriving at the film we still know today. The development of negatives was an extremely long and complex chemical process, and Sommer was also one of the pioneers of photojournalism.

National Agency for Investment Attraction and Business Development

Initiative funded with the contribution of Invitalia under the Cultura Crea – PON Cultura & Sviluppo 2014 measure. – 2020, n. IC3000163 – CUP C69J22001130008