MILAN, Italy — If there is one thing Italy would not seem to need, especially from Americans, it is another place to buy a cup of coffee.

But hundreds of people in Milan thought otherwise on Friday, lining up for at least an hour to take part in the latest place-to-be event in Italy’s fashion and design capital: the country’s first Starbucks cafe.

No ordinary Starbucks, this is a Reserve Roastery — the company’s third, after locations in Seattle and Shanghai — complete with an in-house coffee roastery, a 30-foot-long Tuscan marble bar, various coffee stations (customers are given a physical map to the shop) and over 115 different beverages. It lies in the heart of the city, a short walk from the Milan Cathedral and the Royal Palace in one direction, and the Sforza Castle in the other.

With its splashy entrée into Milanese society, Starbucks tailored its offerings to Italian tastes, which may need time to get used to some of the company’s American fare, like a venti pumpkin spice latte with maple pecan sauce. For now, there is novelty aplenty, but no frappuccino.