Food and Retail History History of Esselunga History of Italy History of the Caprotti and Venosta families Marketing News ad Analysis

King Kullen: why the first US supermarket was at the forefront of global distribution

Italian, French and British retailers have drawn inspiration and lessons from their American counterparts. And the chain that opened its first supermarket 96 years ago is still family-owned: in June, King Kullen appointed its first female president, Tracey Cullen, the founder’s great-granddaughter

Geopolitics and History History of Italy

What lies behind Italy’s pacifism in Putin’s war against Ukraine

In response to the Soviet decision to deploy SS-20 missiles, NATO adopted the ‘twin-track approach’: to station missiles in Europe whilst simultaneously negotiating disarmament with the USSR. Italy chose Comiso Airport as the base for 112 cruise missiles. The deployment caused extremely high tensions between 1981 and 1983 and gave rise to a major peace movement. Catholic and left-wing

History of Italy History of the Caprotti and Venosta families Local History

The Caprotti Manufactory: fabrics were stories, the forerunners of marketing

For over a century, the Caprotti factory in Albiate was a place of work, identity and memory. Its logo – the goat – and the names of its fabrics evoked strength and prestige: Leone, Vittoria, Cleopatra. Others linked the product to Italy’s geographical identity, such as Calabria and Tevere. Still others, such as Jolanda and Marina, followed the fashion of the time, or current events, such as Tosca, linked to Puccini’s opera.

Food and Retail History History of Esselunga History of Italy History of the Caprotti and Venosta families Local History

The story of the family that created the Esselunga myth

After years of meticulous research and historical reconstruction, my new book Le Ossa dei Caprotti is out. At the centre of the narrative, the events of my family from the textile business at the beginning of the 19th century to the birth and development of Esselunga, debunking myths and legends

History of Italy History of the Caprotti and Venosta families Press & Events

Gianni Albertini and the impossible enterprise

The voyage on the pack refers to the value of enterprise, to the importance of the help that one man can give to other men. It is a hymn to hope that must not die. Albertini will do other things in life. His work and passion for golf will absorb him completely. Of that adventure there is little emphasis. If he thinks about it, he weeps.Today, when everything is spectacle, appearances, narcissism, selfishness, a virtual bubble in which the false is confused with the true, that journey is not just a testimony to courage, it is an adventure driven also by a moral duty. It was enough for Albertini to know that he had done what was right. Not out of duty, but because it was right to do so. A universal lesson.

History of Esselunga History of Italy History of the Caprotti and Venosta families

Peppino and Peppino Caprotti: America’s uncles and the Marshall Plan

In 1893, Lucie Amélie Kampmann, one of the sisters of my great-grandmother Fernande – the mother of my grandmother Marianne Maire Caprotti – married Julian Ellinger, who was born in Baltimore, and moved with him to the United States. Their son Alfred, my grandmother’s cousin, would be instrumental in securing Marshall Plan funds for the Caprotti factory.

Food and Retail History History of Esselunga History of Italy History of the Caprotti and Venosta families In the spotlight 2 Local History

The Caprotti family: from textiles – with Manifattura – to Esselunga

The Caprotti story begins with Antonio del fu Giovanni Battista (1685). The family’s origins lie in agriculture and textiles, until 2009 when, partly due to a sharp drop in orders, the company’s top management decided to close the Manifattura after more than 179 years of activity. In the meantime, the Caprotti family took part in the founding of Esselunga in 1957