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 my great-grandmother Fernande's sisters, my grandmother Marianne Maire Caprotti's mother, married Baltimore-born Julian Ellinger and moved with him to the United States. Their son Alfred, grandmother's cousin, will be the conduit for obtaining Marshall Plan funds for Manifattura Caprotti.

History of the Caprotti and Venosta families

Bursinel, the castle on Caprotti’s lake

The castle of Bursinel, in the canton of Vaud, was bought after the war by grandfather Peppino, and together with Villa Nadina, in Forte dei Marmi, it is one of the places of the heart. At Bursinel we all get together, uncles cousins brothers grandmothers and great-grandmothers, and we children play for hours on the castle's large lawn. My father gave it to my sister who is selling it, much to my regret.

Food and Retail History History of Esselunga History of the Caprotti and Venosta families Presentations

Le Ossa dei Caprotti” presentation – Chiari (BS) 8 November 2025 – Rassegna della Microeditoria Italiana

This video documents the presentation of my book Le Ossa dei Caprotti held on Saturday 8 November 2025 in Chiari (BS), as part of the Rassegna della Microeditoria Italiana. In the dialogue with Claudio Baroni, I recount the origin of the book, the work on the sources and the reasons that led me to reconstruct a family history marked by myths, conflicts and complex generational transitions

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

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 Esselunga History of the Caprotti and Venosta families

The house in Via del Lauro, the other heart of the Caprotti family

Deciding to have a permanent home in Milan, grandfather Peppino Caprotti purchased an entire building in the central Via del Lauro. The renovation is overseen by Luigi Caccia Dominioni, an architect, designer and urban planner of international renown, convinced by his grandmother Marianne Maire Caprotti thanks to her particularly tenacious character, which Caccia Dominioni, now 100 years old, still remembered.