There is a document from 1787 that attests to the existence of a coffee shop in this place. This historic café today gathers the legacy of two city bars that existed at the beginning of the 1900s: the Alba bar (the current location of the Orologio café) and the Orologio bar, which was located under the portico on the left side of the Ova square.
The square was for years the subject of contention between the two bars for the arrangement of chairs and tables.
It was frequented by illustrious Modenese figures (from Antonio Delfini to Pavarotti) who could find there, in addition to wine and coffee, also cotechino with beans and macaroni with sausage and beans served at all hours of the day and night.