Supper at Emmaus, Jacopo Pontormo
In 1512, twelve of Florence’s most famous Renaissance artists and poets formed what must be the first supper club. Known as La Compagnia del Paiuolo, members were tasked with creating inventive and aesthetically pleasing dinners for one another, each one more extravagant than the next. Their motto was l’arte si fa a cena – art is made at dinner – and, the duplication of ideas was strictly punished. (We heartily agree!)
Painter Andrea del Sarto contributed a gastronomic version of Florence’s Baptistry, complete with columns made out of sausages, a marble floor of mottled soprassata (salami) and a choir of roasted birds. Such whimsical cooking may be hard to find in Florence these days but you can catch the supper club vibe and eccentricity at chef Fabbio Picchi’s members-only club and theatre, Teatro del Sale. Annual membership €5. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
