These beautiful capitals dating to the 1400s line the porticoes to Palazzo Pannolini-Malvasia. In 1619 this building became the seat for Collegio Pannolini for students studying Humanities. Around the mid 1700s the façade along Via Zamboni was restored by Francesco Tadolini.

Today though, located inside one part of the palazzo is this quintessential Irish pub which opened on the 4th of April 1995 becoming the third one to open in this city.

Currently, the pub sits next to the seat of Alma Mater, Bologna University – one of the oldest in Europe.

Set within three floors in a space of 700m² it’s reputedly one of the busiest and most frequented pubs in Bologna, many of its locals being students with tourists and the Bolognese making up the rest.

Old photos and signs in Gaelige capture the Irish culture, pride of place going of course to the Guinness memorabilia of which there is no shortage.

Towards the back of the bar is an unusual set of seats and tables which are made from old iron beds. Other pieces of hardware probably originated from an ex-church as can be seen from the traditional design. This was also a common practice to decorate Irish themed bars. In fact, most of the furniture and paraphernalia here were imported. The pub was literally designed and created in Ireland and eventually exported here in a container ship.

For 10 years running the Cluricaune has won the accolade of being the best Guinness Pub for the volume of beer sold.

It sells typical Irish beer such as Guinness, Harp, Kilkenny and even serves fish & chips and hamburgers. There’s no pasta, spaghetti or pizzas to be found on the premises.

According to folklore Cluricaune, which in Irish is clúracán, is a type of Leprechaun who lives alone and is not a very sociable character. However, it’s said that they are quite fond of a drink or two.

This large art work by Pilla and Fogale illustrates the origins of the name of this bar. It’s a typical kitsch image of Irish mythology although it’s soon to be updated with a more modern image.

On this level there are numerous tv screens for football and rugby matches. Again, it’s quite in keeping with the culture of many Irish pubs and really only lacks one element to complete the full picture: a bookie sat in the corner dealing with the latest horse racing results.

Downstairs is one of the few remaining places in Bologna where customers can smoke inside. Several glass cabinets reveal another past traditional feature of Irish pubs. Water jugs on display were used by whiskey drinkers to add water to their drinks instead of ice. It’s also where more murals on celtic imaginary can be found.

In short, there’s a lot of untold Irish history sitting on the shelves and cupboards of the Cluricaune just waiting to be unlocked by a true seanchaí.

References

http://www.balordo.net/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=362

External Links

http://www.cluricaune.it

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