Babington's Tea Rooms

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Babington's Tea Rooms next to the Spanish Steps (2013)
Inside View (2014) Waitress in Victorian servant attire

Babington's Tea Rooms in Rome  is a 1894 by the Englishwomen founded Isabel Cargill and Anna Maria Babington Tearoom . It is located in an 18th century building at the foot of the Spanish Steps .

history

In 1893 the English women Isabel Cargill and Anna Maria Babington arrived in Rome with the plan to introduce the English tradition of afternoon tea into Roman society. They set up the Babingtons Tea Room, where ladies and gentlemen could have tea and refreshments. The Tea Room was originally set up in Via dei due Macelli . The immediate success encouraged the two owners to move to the famous Piazza di Spagna 23, where the tea room is still located today.

The 1920s brought financial hardships to the Tea Room and it was only thanks to the cohesion of the Babington heirs that the Tea Room survived by making it glamorous. Again, the tea room became the meeting place for Roman society.

During the time of Italian fascism in the 1930s, many foreign businesses disappeared. Curiously, the front rooms of the tea room became a center of attraction for the officers, while the meetings of the anti-fascist intelligentsia took place in the kitchens . The Babingtons survived World War II because the workforce used their food stamps to serve dishes to guests. In the entire history of Babington, the Tea Room was closed for a few hours only once: when the Allies reached Rome.

The new generation of Babingtons introduced a lunch menu to cater to the discerning clientele. The Babingtons heir Valerio traveled to London with bottles of water from Piazza di Spagna to develop the first Babingtons blend. Valerio also designed the first Babingtons logo with the Mascherino cat that resided in the tea room.

While she was shooting in the Cinecittà film studios , film stars such as Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor , Peter Ustinov and Claudia Cardinale were guests in the tearoom. The chocolate cake created for Audrey Hepburn , who frequently visited Babington's tearoom, is known from this period .

One of the better known tea blenders is Melania Lopez Francis, who was responsible for the Royal Wedding Tea Blend , among other things .

Babington's Tea Rooms today

Today the Tea Room is run by Rory Bruce and Chiara Bedini, the descendants of the founders. There are concerts, tea teastings, readings and the annual Babingtons Christmas Carrol Singing on the Spanish Steps . Under the direction of Rory Bruce, the TeaRoom was expanded and renovated. The design was developed by Marcello Minale, son of the designer Marcello Minale . To this day, afternoon tea is served in traditional Victorian uniforms.

Mascherino

Mascherino was a male stray cat that lived in Rome by the Spanish Steps in the 1950s. She appeared every day in the Roman Tea Room Babington at the back door of the kitchen. She also stayed in the tea room very often and was seen by the guests as a symbol of the tea room due to her clever nature. Her as the only cat was allowed to stay on a pillow in the tea room throughout the day.

She had black and white fur with a black patch on her face like a mask. Since she also seemed very smart, she was called Mascherino by the employees of the tea room.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Babington's Tea Room in Rome. In: Romeing | Rome's english magazine, events and exhibitions in Rome. January 22, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2019 (American English).
  2. ↑ Isabel Cargill , one of the two founders of the Babingtons
  3. ↑ Person Page. Retrieved August 17, 2019 .
  4. ^ Where to Rome in the eternal city. March 15, 2012, accessed August 16, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Emma Law: Inside Babingtons, Rome's Oldest English Tea House. Retrieved August 16, 2019 .
  6. ^ Babington's Tea Room | Restaurants in Rome. Retrieved August 15, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Babington's: i 125 anni della sala da tè nata per dimenticare una delusione d'amore. January 24, 2018, accessed August 16, 2019 (Italian).
  8. ↑ Melania B. Lopez Francis | Istituto Internazionale Assaggiatori Caffè. Retrieved August 19, 2019 .
  9. ↑ ON THE WINGS OF LOVE - Babingtons ROYAL WEDDING TEA BLEND 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2019 (Italian).
  10. ↑ Barb's Tea Shop: Barb's Tea Shop: Babington's Tea Room in Rome: Our visit to this English tearoom with Italian flair featured in Tea Time Magazine! In: Barb's Tea Shop. August 12, 2018, accessed August 16, 2019 .
  11. ^ "A Proper Cup of Tea" in Rome: Babington's Tearooms Celebrates 125th Birthday. In: lavocedinewyork.com. Retrieved August 16, 2019 (American English).
  12. ↑ . Babingtons. Retrieved August 15, 2019 .
  13. ↑ ON THE WINGS OF LOVE - Babingtons ROYAL WEDDING TEA BLEND 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2019 (Italian).
  14. ↑ Emma Law: Inside Babingtons, Rome's Oldest English Tea House. Retrieved August 19, 2019 .
  15. ↑ Coat colors of the cat . In: Wikipedia . November 22, 2019 ( wikipedia.org [accessed December 9, 2019]).
  16. ↑ Edgar Morscher: Stig Kanger - A Known Stranger Or An Unknown Friend? In: Graz Philosophical Studies . tape 68 , no. 1 , January 1, 2005, ISSN  0165-9227 , p. 175-200 , doi : 10.1163 / 18756735-068001008 .
  17. ↑ Babington's: i 125 anni della sala da tè nata per dimenticare una delusione d'amore. January 24, 2018, accessed December 9, 2019 (Italian).