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 Italian Micro-Publishing Exhibition. In conversation with Claudio Baroni, I talk about the origins of the book, my research into the sources and the reasons that led me to reconstruct a family history marked by myths, conflicts and generational transitions.
Esselunga is an 8 billion euro turnover colossus that Giuseppe Caprotti led as CEO, but where he can no longer set foot. In a story that weaves together family business, unresolved grudges and legal battles, Caprotti retraces three centuries of family history, which is intertwined with that of Italy.
Everything was already written in the will: Giuseppe and his sister Violetta, children of the first marriage, are not universal heirs but legatees, with a heavy tax burden on them. A family and entrepreneurial story narrated in the book Le Ossa dei Caprotti (Feltrinelli, 2023), which tells the story of a great enterprise between economic successes and personal entanglements.
Giuseppe Caprotti was the protagonist of a bitter clash with his father Bernardo Caprotti over the succession at the head of the Esselunga group. He recounted this long conflict full of twists and turns (a sort of Italian-style “Succession”) in his book “Le Ossa dei Caprotti” (Feltrinelli). We talked about how Esselunga was born, the father-son relationship within one of Italy’s leading entrepreneurial dynasties, family capitalism, supermarkets, stalking, the CIA, the Rockefellers and artificial intelligence.
PDR – Daniele Rielli’s podcast, February 2024
Life stories told by people who have lived them to the full. In One More Time Luca Casadei tackles, together with his guests, the rebirth through failures. In this episode: Today we will have the pleasure of taking a journey with Giuseppe Caprotti, son of the founder of Esselunga and protagonist of an emotional story, characterised by great unrecognised achievements and much public suffering.
Guido Venosta, my grandfather, was a pioneer of the non-profit sector. While still an executive at Pirelli, in 1966 he was charged with getting the Italian Association for Cancer Research (AIRC) off the ground. He worked for the association with dedication and enthusiasm, eventually turning it into the largest private funding body in Italy for research in the fight against cancer. Thanks to his commitment and brilliant mind, initiatives that have made the history of non-profit fundraising such as ‘Health Oranges’ and ‘Research Azaleas’ were born. Every two years a deserving researcher receives the ‘Guido Venosta’ award from the President of the Republic. https://www. fondazioneguidovenosta.org[/vc_column_text]
On 23 January 2024, in the splendid setting of the Accademia di Agricoltura, Scienze e Lettere of Verona, the presentation of the book “Le Ossa dei Caprotti” by Giuseppe Caprotti, Feltrinelli, Milan, 2023, was held.
In the interview, conducted on the occasion of Ancp’s event on the successions of large Italian families, Giuseppe Caprotti presents “Le Ossa dei Caprotti”.
Featuring Giuseppe Caprotti, Fabio Ciconte, Benjamin Lorr, Emanuela Scarpellini
