1917 Buffet Stazione-Chiusi Restaurant Italy
Circa 1917, this rare advertising postcard presents the Buffet Stazione-Chiusi, an esteemed dining establishment situated within the Chiusi railway station in Tuscany. More than a mere advertisement, the card is a carefully constructed visual narrative, capturing the elegance, sophistication, and vitality of early 20th-century Italian travel culture.
The card is a masterful collage of four images. The exterior view situates the restaurant within the operational station, with a train poised on the tracks, evoking the excitement and modernity of the railway era. Two interior scenes reveal the cultivated ambiance of the Buffet Stazione-Chiusi: one displays a set dining room attended by a poised waiter, conveying refinement and attention to detail; the other showcases a well-stocked bar, emphasizing the establishment’s role as a hub of social and culinary life. The fourth panel frames the historic hilltop town of Chiusi, its ancient architecture and Etruscan heritage providing a striking context that links the modern conveniences of the railway to the timeless allure of Tuscany.
The card bears the restaurant’s name, Buffet Stazione-Chiusi, and identifies the proprietors as F.lli Notari. Photographic credit is marked as “3342 – (fot. Fusari),” anchoring the piece in a documented moment of Italian commercial artistry. Chiusi itself, historically a thriving center of the Etruscan civilization and later rejuvenated by the 19th-century railway, is rendered here in a moment of poised transition between past and present.
In original vintage condition, the postcard bears the gentle patina of a century’s history, enhancing its authenticity and resonance. This piece is exceptionally rare, offering collectors a multidimensional artifact that combines early 20th-century Italian commercial design, historical railway culture, and the timeless beauty of Tuscany. It is ideal for serious collectors of Italian ephemera, historical advertising, railway memorabilia, or museum-quality Tuscan imagery, and stands as a singular window into the elegance, mobility, and social sophistication of its era.
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