The history of the Pfanner Brewhouse is first of all the story of a man, Felix Pfanner, subject of the Austrian Empire, born in 1818 on the shores of Lake Constance.
Third-born from a family of humble origins, Felix came to Lucca in 1846 as a brewer, after hearing about an open call by the Duke of Lucca, Charles Louis, who requested the presence of a skilled German beer maker in the city.
At the time, beer was almost unheard of in Italy, and there were no shops nor a retail network. Felix was one of the first to popularize it with its brewhouse, which he managed to set in the former Palazzo Controni, where he leased the garden and the cellars. Over the years, Felix created a biergarten with annexed pergola, marble tables, cast iron chairs, a factory and settling tanks in the Mansion’s cellars.
In no time, this became a popular hanging spot for those who fell in love with the ‘new’ beverage called beer. Men and even entire families came from Lucca and from its surroundings, drawn by the novel product and by the beauty of this place. And even women were allowed to enter – which was a real rarity at the times. The biergarten at Palazzo Pfanner – the new Mansion’s name, after Felix purchased it – became a popular attraction, with legions of peacocks and waiters in livery.
Felix died in 1892, but the biergarten remained open until 1929, in the hands of his son, Raffaello. After 1929, the Pfanner Brewhouse ceased to exist. However, its memory remained vivid in collective memory, and in 1964 it was remembered in a touching article by writer Guglielmo Petroni from Lucca, published in the magazine ‘La Provincia di Lucca’.
