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

Caprotti family Easter egg hunt, 1964

For us, children with transalpine blood and habits, hunting for Easter eggs among the meadows and trees has always been a habit. With our mothers and cousins we would scatter around the countryside, well dressed and the girls in their hats; the customary photo would follow, like this one, full of the tenderness of memories, perfect for wishing everyone a peaceful Easter.

History of the Caprotti and Venosta families Local History

Giuseppe Caprotti portrayed as Benefactor of the Ca’ Granda Foundation, 2023

When my mother Giorgina Venosta passed me the baton of the Guido Venosta Foundation, created in memory of her father and my grandfather, we were in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. As President, I then tried to intervene as much as possible with concrete aid to cope with the emergency; among these was the donation of 12 intensive care beds at the Policlinico di Milano. And the Foundation that runs it, in keeping with a centuries-old tradition that began in 1459, has paid tribute to this charity by dedicating a portrait to me

Food and Retail History History of Esselunga Local History

The Caprotti family and the Esselunga supermarkets: the Aprilia egg, 1950s

Nelson Rockefeller did not only ownEsselunga in Italy. He also owned a company, in Aprilia, that produced eggs…. In 1961, when by then all four of the planned Milanese shops had been opened, the balance sheet figures for the previous year – $200,000 net revenue – showed that not only the idea, but his way of realising it had been successful. Efficient logistics had been created, from the central warehouse to the purchase of large quantities of goods at favourable prices, but also a production chain of its own: IBEC took over a large poultry farm in Aprilia, the ‘Chicken City’, and turned it into a laying hen farm with an egg processing plant.

History of the Caprotti and Venosta families Local History

The Caprotti family: FAIDA

Great-grandfather Bernardo against his brother Emilio. The continuous alternation of love and hate, balance and rivalry. History is a teacher of life. And it repeats itself, because few learn. Fortunately, thanks to grandfather Peppino, the two brothers spent the Christmas holidays of the last years of their lives together. The feud was over, the two brothers had learned a positive lesson from their clashes.