The Tavern of the Good Horseshoe (Taberna de la Buena Herradura) is a tavern in the southern outskirts of Florence, toward the river, a few steps from the Palace of the Priorate, around the year 1300. It is a meeting point and gossip spot for the Invisible Heroes.
| Type | Place (tavern) |
| Era | Florence, c. 1300 |
| Location | Southern outskirts, toward the river |
| Keeper | An enormous matron, “the mother of the tavern”; Roberto serves |
| Spanish entry | Taberna de la Buena Herradura |
Description
The Palace of the Priorate has a dome and six priors who in 1300 disputed who governed the city. Past the severe order of the Temple, where the knights look at their spurs, one enters another Florence: the one that eats, drinks and gambles.
- The shield bears a lion, the city’s Marzocco. The house is on good terms with the guild of innkeepers and winegrowers, so it never lacks wine.
- Hams hang from the ceiling and huge pots boil on the stoves. At the back, grapes are trodden barefoot. The kitchen sends out pizzas and gazas de pan sudado (loaves that sweat the oil and heat of the oven): common food for a common parish.
Clientele
- Wool carders, recognizable by the goiter-swollen necks the trade leaves them.
- Dice and card players, casting their luck in plain view at the threshold.
- Moneychangers on little stools in the street, counting florins and copper vellones.
An enormous matron runs the house; Roberto serves among the tables and knows each patron by his thirst. Sooner or later all the Florence that matters to someone seeking money or news passes through its door. More than one enterprise of the Invisible Heroes was cooked up at its tables before they set out for the towers or the sea.
See also
- Invisible Heroes
- Temple (Complex, TE)
- Luca: among those who frequent the southern outskirts