Le Murate Caffe Letterario
A cafe and bar in the courtyard of a former prison, now a cultural centre, with tables under the arches and events most weeks.
- Area
- Santa Croce
- Address
- Piazza delle Murate
- Opened
- 2011, in the former prison complex
- Restoration
- Renzo Piano
- Open
- Morning until late, seven days
- Checked
- August 2026
- Price
- €€
- Go for
- A courtyard inside the old city prison, rebuilt by Renzo Piano, where the aperitivo comes with a concert or a book launch most weeks.
- Skip if
- You are judging it as a restaurant. The food is fine and the place is the reason.
What everybody agrees on
Read across public reviews on TripAdvisor, Yelp and Italian sites in September 2026. Rated around 4.0, with the setting praised far more consistently than the kitchen.
- Nearly all
The courtyard carries it. High walls, mismatched furniture, and the fact that it was a women's prison until the 1980s.
- Most
There is a programme almost every week: concerts, book launches, film nights, debates. People come for the evening rather than the menu.
- Most
The crowd is Florentine and mixed in a way that central bars are not, which Italian reviewers mention specifically.
- Often
There is a lending library inside, and people borrow from it during aperitivo.
- Some
Service quality swings, and this is the most repeated complaint.
- Some
The acoustics suit talks better than live music, which reviewers note when a concert is on.
What to order
Check what is on that evening before you decide when to arrive. On a night with a concert this is a completely different place from a quiet Tuesday.
Before you go
- Getting there
- Piazza delle Murate, ten minutes east of the Duomo towards Sant'Ambrogio.
- Best time
- Aperitivo hour, or whenever the programme says.
- Also
- A lending library and a working cultural centre in the same complex.
The complex was a prison until 1985 and is now housing, studios and a public courtyard. The cafe runs from morning coffee through to late drinks, with concerts, readings and film nights through the year.
Central but almost entirely local, because visitors do not think to walk into a former prison. Ten minutes east of the Duomo.