Palazzo Agostini and Caffè dell'Ussero, lungarno Pacinotti

Facciata Palazzo Agostini e Caffè dell'Ussero (L. Corevi, Comune di Pisa)

The Caffè dell'Ussero is the oldest coffee shop in Pisa and the third in Italy, after the Florian of Venice (1720) and the Greco of Rome (1760). Founded in 1775 , the Caffè dell'Ussero, which owes its name to a group of hussars who arrived in Pisa together with Grand Duke Francis I of Lorraine and his wife Maria Teresa of Austria and were hosted in these premises in 1750. The coffee shop immediately became a meeting place for all the Pisan university society, and the forge of Italian Enlightenment and Risorgimento ideas. Among its walls the departure of the expedition of the university battalion for Curtatone and Montanara was organized. It had many names, including the Caffè dell’Unione, when it hosted the meetings of the scientists who came to Pisa for the First Congress of Italian Scientists. A legend tells that on the premises of the Agostini palace a French Hussar was imprisoned and walled alive, and his ghost wanders in the ancient building, making his chains resonate eerily, hence the name Caffè dell'Ussero.

Curious fact: the Agostini are also owners of the beautiful Villa di Corliano, in San Giuliano Terme, one of the most beautiful in the area, featuring elegant frescoes by Andrea Boscoli. A magical place, rich in history and legends. The church of Saints Pietro and Paolo or church of Corliano or Romitorio di Corliano, originally consecrated to Santo Stefano, seems to have been built on the remains of a pagan temple dedicated to the Bona Dea (Roman Goddess). In the eighteenth century the villa was inhabited by Teresa Scolastica, the bride of Cosimo Baldassarre Agostini, who restored its park and furnishings. A woman of great value and with a good heart: it is said that since her death she still lives inside the villa and her appearances are not uncommon. She is also followed by the most expert international teams of ghost hunters.