From Tuscany to your table: Il Pane bakery showcases the best of Italian fare
On the outskirts of the city centre in Prague 3, a delicious Italian bakery serves up traditional Tuscan and Italian fare, and has become a social hub for both Italian expats in the neighbourhood and local Czechs.
In the heart of downtown Žižkov, a bakery by the name of Il Pane Italská Pekárna owned by husband and wife duo Roberto Setti and Deborah Giorgi serves up beautifully baked Italian breads and traditional Tuscan schiacciata. Originally from Florence, the couple came to Prague on their honeymoon years ago, and Roberto fell in love with the city. In September 2020, the doors of the bakery opened to the neighbourhood of Žižkov, where it has received a warm reception from the community for the delicious food and warm social atmosphere.
Baking and cooking is something Roberto has been doing for years, as his friend Eric Roselli explains.
‘It’s been a passion he’s always had since he was 14 years old. He would ride his bike very far to learn how to make schiacciata, which is typical Tuscan focaccia, but to be clear, we don’t call it focaccia, we call it schiacciata! He was learning how to make that and it became his passion and eventually his dream to open up a bakery of his own.‘
After owning a small fast food shop back in Italy, the couple decided to move their enterprise to Prague. After spending several years saving and collecting the funds to open up their own space, the bakery opened its doors in September 2020. Since then, the response from the local community has blown Roberto and Deborah away, as customers return weekly to buy their homemade food and shop for Italian specialty food items.
‘Everybody that comes here, give it two or three visits, starts to feel at home. It’s comfort for people to come and hang out here, it’s a fantastic place. There’s really that feeling of the ‘circolo sociale’, that means social circle, which is very important for Italians.’
For Roberto, the most rewarding part of owning the bakery through the good times and the bad, has been the connection it has fostered with him and the community.
‘The biggest satisfaction is the warmth from the people. You don’t do work like this to become rich. So the biggest satisfaction for me is just the reception we’ve gotten from people, especially non-Italians. Sometimes Czechs can be a little bit cold at first, but they’ve all seen that we’re nice people at the bakery and it’s just fun to be here.’
With every loaf of bread baked, and every espresso served, Roberto and Deborah have created their own circolo sociale in Žižkov, bringing a taste of their Tuscan roots and traditions, to a very local Prague neighbourhood.
