From Boccaccio to Boccacelli
A history of Albergo Montreal
Giles Walker - Lecturer in Italian, Pembroke College, Oxford (GB), 25th March 2004
- We have often been asked why our hotel is called Albergo Montreal...
- Perturbed by the stench coming from the first floor, Jean climbed the stairs...
- As the hermit grew older, so he realised that he needed assistance...
As the hermit grew older, so he realised that he needed assistance and so he took on a partener, Andrea, and a cleaning lady, Stefania. Andrea was a friendly and generous soul, who always made sure that when he repaired to the Grotta di Leo below to play cards, that he left a note for his guests, which read 'I'm in the Pizzeria!' If Andrea were winning, he would always offer his guests a glass of wine whilst the game was completed; however, when things were going less well, he was always willing to answer the call of duty and to abandon the table in order to open the hotel.
At first, guests were unused to the high standards of cleanliness introduced by Stefania. Soon, however, they began to come back in ever increasing numbers, until Andrea realised he would need to expand. In the 1990's he added two rooms, before selling the hotel and setting up the excellent Florence by Bike. The new owners were Roberto Boccaccelli, a swarthily handsome young Florentine, and his friendly Sicilian wife, Silvia lo Monaco.
They immediately set to work to improve the hotel, adding the second floor rooms and the apartments. Then a chance meeting occurred on the eve of the new millennium between the mayor of Florence, Domenici, and Roberto. They talked a little about their plans for the new era, and both spoke of the need for 'grandi lavori', Domenici to build a tramway and Roberto to modernise the first floor of Albergo Montreal.
The pair laid a friendly bet that the one would complete his project before the other. At first, as the hole in Piazza Vittorio Vattene became longer and deeper, it seemed that Domenici had a head start, and certainly Roberto's hair became a whiter shade of grey when he received a whispered voice message 'Chi finisce per ulitmo, paga'.
However, work on the tramway soon stopped, whilst Roberto refused to yield, until by 2002 all the rooms had carpets, sound-proofing and sensible numberings. The bathrooms too were modernised and gradually television sets began to appear. As this goes to press, the new reception area and breakfast room have been opened, and the lift has made its maiden voyage.
All these events have brought Roberto and Silvia closer together, as a result of which India and Alberto have joined the family. Now assistant manager, Stefania too has made her contribution to the next generation of the friendly Albergo Montreal, although this youngster shares the name Niccolò with the great Florentine political thinker, Machiavelli, so he may have join the city council and find out what happened to Domenici's tramway!