To answer the question we are asked by so many, as to why we choose to dedicate the name of our cafè in the heart of the historical center of Florence to one the greatest writers of all time, we must first go back to the year 1918.
World War I was in its final year of battle and it was the year in which our young Hemingway had decided to volunteer as a Red Cross ambulance driver stationed on the Italian-Austrian front. After arriving and passing two weeks with little to do, he volunteered to run a mobile canteen, which dispensed chocolate and cigarettes to soldiers on the front, as well as the wounded. One day in early July, Hemingway was at the front handing out chocolate and was hit suddenly by fragments of a trench mortar causing severe injuries to his legs. He passed out momentarily and when he awoke, he was hit yet again, this time, in the knees by machine gun fire. Despite all of his injuries, Hemingway managed to carry himself as well as a wounded Italian soldier to safety. For this, he was awarded a Silver medal of Valor by the U.S. Military. He was also the first American to be wounded in WWI, and was awarded the War Cross by the Italian military. For those searching for the link between Hemingway and chocolate, you will find it in this particular episode of his life.
Our dear Hemingway, in every moment of his life was extreme, and he lived with the courage to follow his own path. In today's day and age, in a world that is moving towards globalization, where you can find the same tastes and smells that can be found in Florence, in Los Angeles, Singapore, Moscow and Paris; we, like Ernest, would like to pave our own way. We would like to do so by being curious, courageous and original protagonists in creating our sweet, indulging and playful cultural cusine and by affirming our diversity with the quality of our offering. This is our desire and what we attempt daily here at Hemingway, with the hope to grow, to learn, to provoke emotion, and leave behind a testimony to our uniqueness.
Thank you,
Massimiliano