Some of Italy's bars and cafés are finding innovative ways of making customers hang around a bit longer than it takes to gulp down an espresso, according to the latest specialist guide .
As well as the now common concept of the Internet cafe, where you can surf the Web as you sup a cappuccino, the most adventurous establishments are offering clients unexpected options such as saunas and flower arrangements .
The Universal Cafe in Rome's central Via Coppelle is connected to a neighbouring sauna and massage parlour, so a bout of serious body care can be rounded off by a relaxing moment with a coffee and a pastry .
In Milan the Bianchi Flower Shop has turned part of its premises into an elegant café with intersecting rooms decorated like a Parisian bistrot. Here you can lounge around, trying aperitifs as you ponder whether to buy roses or an orchid for a loved one .
A similar florist's shop-cum-café in Rome's Via Flaminia Vecchia allows people tired of smog and noise to drink espresso and eat a slice of homemade quiche in a calm, lush winter garden surrounded by plants and blooms. They can also, if they wish, buy one of the numerous, elaborate flower arrangements on display .
"Lots of places have decided to encourage people to hang around longer by offering them interesting stuff to do or especially conducive surroundings," said Laura Mantovano, editor of a new guide to Italian bars published by the Gambero Rosso magazine .
She said the annual study of bars and cafés had highlighted a growing trend to be offer interesting novelties in order to 'capture' clientele .
Of the 1,500 Italian bars picked out by the Gambero Rosso guide as definitely worth visiting, about 70 fell into this category. It's a small but dynamic section which is destined to grow, Mantovano said .
CULTURAL EVENTS. Encouraging people to stay a while after their coffee is a problem. But bars are also worried that not enough people are setting foot in their premises in the first place .
So as well as providing reading material in the form of Internet or conventional books and magazines, forward thinking establishments are also organising events to attract people who might not otherwise go. These can be of all sorts but they are always more or less cultural. There tend to be book presentations, meetings with authors and artists, art exhibitions, food and wine tasting events and debates .
The Gambero Rosso guide awarded a special 'Innovation' prize to the Il Kaldo Fashion Caffé in Montecorsaro in the Marche region, which has become a favourite meeting place for young people in the area .
The 'Kaldo' has a light and airy ultramodern look, with red seats and table tops, but offers fine and traditional coffee and cakes. It has wi-fi internet access for customers equipped with laptops, a bookshop and, among its other events, a fishy nibbles evening on Fridays .
"The idea in all these places is to create an environment where people can spend the whole day if they want," Mantovano said .
One of the appeals of a café is also that it competes with restaurants by offering food and drink in less formal surroundings and at lower prices .
One of Italy's top gourmet restaurants, Le Calandre, near Padua, has taken this trend on board and recently opened an attached cafe where people can expect the same quality as in the restaurant but in a more relaxed atmosphere .
The Gambero Rosso guide selects top Italian bars every year and awards them ratings based on coffee-cup symbols, representing the quality of the coffee, and ears of corn, representing the quality of food available .
This year there were 19 bars which won the top rating of three cups and three ears of corn. Piedmont, the region around Turin, again proved to have the most top class cafés, with six .
All the top 19 were cafés in the traditional mould, with their business firmly focused around fine coffee and the soft, sweet pastries that traditionally go with it .
The best café of the year award, promoted by coffee producer Illy, was won by Biasetto's in Padua, in part because of its fine cakes and biscuits, produced by the family pastry business .
