1890 circa – Milan, Italy: unfinished (list of dishes not included)

Menu for Cioccolata Piazza, Milan
1 page, color chromolithograph print, cardstock embossed and dotted, artist unknown. 

Elegant card menu cover in art deco style with a scene of Nordic houses under the snow. The actual menu would have been attached to the back.

[Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Advertisements].
COLLOC. A.654.01 – INV. 1640.

1890 circa – Milan, Italy: unfinished (list of dishes not included)

Menu for Cioccolata Piazza, Milan
1 page, color chromolithograph print, cardstock embossed and dotted, artist unknown. 

Elegant card menu cover in art deco style with a scene of Nordic houses under the snow. The actual menu would have been attached to the back.

[Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Advertisements].
COLLOC. A.654.02 – INV. 1641.

1900 circa – Italy: unfinished (list of dishes not included)

Menu for Casa Vinicola E. di Mirafiore, Alba (CN)
1 page, color chromolithograph print, illustrated, Litografia Crudo & C, Genova.

This early century menu is decorated with an illustration of a bottle of Barolo, with a bunch of grapes, and heraldic coat of arms.

[Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Advertisements].
COLLOC. A.655.24 – INV. 1625.

1900 circa – Italy: unfinished (list of dishes not included)

Menu for National Lottery, Rome
1 page, color chromolithograph print, illustrated by Roberto Cavi (?), Stab. A. Marzi, Rome

This promotional menu created for the Italian National Lottery is beautiful and fascinating. The prize for the lottery was 1,500 Lire, a real fortune for the time. The unsigned illustration could have been executed by Italian designer Roberto Cavi (XIX–XX sec.). In the illustration, there are images of the Campidoglio of Rome, the Mole Antonelliana of Turin and the shoulders of the god of fortune. It has a strong art nouveau influence.

[Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Advertisements].
COLLOC. A.659.01 – INV. 1620.

January 22, 1905 – Italy: lunch

Menu for San Pellegrino Mineral Water, San Pellegrino Terme (BG)
Written in French – International Cuisine
1 page, color chromolithograph print, illustrated

Menu and postcard (the postcard is now missing) for San Pellegrino mineral water, with a refined man admiring the beverage. The food is of high quality and meat-heavy.

[Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Advertisements].
COLLOC. A.656.02 – INV. 3564.

February 1, 1908 – Reggio Emilia, Italia, Hotel Posta: lunch

Menu for Sangemini Mineral Water, Sangemini (TR)
Written in Italian – International Cuisine
1 page, color chromolithograph print, illustrated by V. Martini, dated 1903.

An elegant, art deco style menu advertising Sangemini water, personalized by Hotel Posta in Reggio Emilia for a banquet held in 1908. The illustration is signed by V. Martini and dated 1903, a time when sample advertisement menus were being made. The food would have been of medium to high quality with hints of international dishes. Included in the list, there is a Bomba di Canossa, a dessert inspired by an area of the Appenine Mountains of Reggio, where one of the key moments in the battle for the investiture between the papal state and then Empire was held during the Xii century.

[Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Restaurants and trattorie – Emilia-Romagna].
COLLOC. A.62175.01 – INV. 1622.

1910 circa – Milan, Italy: unfinished (list of dishes not included)

Menu for Salumificio G. Vitali, Sesto San Giovanni (MI)
8 pages, color chromolithograph print, bound like a book, cardstock cover, paper inside, bound with a yellow silk cord.

The inside of this menu was left blank for writing the names of the various dishes to be served at a pre-fixed lunch, dinner or alla carte. The cover is an advertisement for the G. Vitali di Sesto San Giovanni, a salami-maker specialized in cooked ham, or prosicutto cotto.

[Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Advertisements].
COLLOC. A.653.01 – INV. 3476.

1910 circa – Italia: unfinished (list of dishes not included)

Menu for Spumante Cinzano, Torino
2 pages, color chromolithograph print, view of Palermo, advertisement on the back, printer and artist unknown.

This menu is part of a series of menus that advertise Cinzano sparkling wine “selected by the King of Italy for Court Dinners” dedicated to the artistic and natural wonders of Italy. There are 8 subjects in the series: Turin, Milan, Venice, Genoa, Florence, Rome, Naples and Palermo. Each menu cover contains a blank area where the menu was intended to be inserted. An inscription appears in the corner of the art nouveau style design.

[Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Advertisements].
COLLOC. A.655.08 – INV. 3485.

1910 circa – Italia: unfinished (list of dishes not included)

Menu for Spumante Cinzano, Torino
2 pages, color chromolithograph print, view of Florence, advertisement on the back, printer and artist unknown.

This menu is part of a series of menus that advertise Cinzano sparkling wine “selected by the King of Italy for Court Dinners” dedicated to the artistic and natural wonders of Italy. There are 8 subjects in the series: Turin, Milan, Venice, Genoa, Florence, Rome, Naples and Palermo. Each menu cover contains a blank area where the menu was intended to be inserted. An inscription appears in the corner of the art nouveau style design.

[Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Advertisements].
COLLOC. A.655.09 – INV. 3482.

1910 circa – Italia: unfinished (list of dishes not included)

Menu for Spumante Cinzano, Torino
2 pages, color chromolithograph print, view of Naples, advertisement on the back, printer and artist unknown.

This menu is part of a series of menus that advertise Cinzano sparkling wine “selected by the King of Italy for Court Dinners” dedicated to the artistic and natural wonders of Italy. There are 8 subjects in the series: Turin, Milan, Venice, Genoa, Florence, Rome, Naples and Palermo. Each menu cover contains a blank area where the menu was intended to be inserted. An inscription appears in the corner of the art nouveau style design.

[Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Advertisements].
COLLOC. A.655.10 – INV. 3483.

1910 circa – Italia: unfinished (list of dishes not included)

Menu for Spumante Cinzano, Torino
2 pages, color chromolithograph print, view of Genoa, advertisement on the back, printer and artist unknown.

This menu is part of a series of menus that advertise Cinzano sparkling wine “selected by the King of Italy for Court Dinners” dedicated to the artistic and natural wonders of Italy. There are 8 subjects in the series: Turin, Milan, Venice, Genoa, Florence, Rome, Naples and Palermo. Each menu cover contains a blank area where the menu was intended to be inserted. An inscription appears in the corner of the art nouveau style design.

[Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Advertisements].
COLLOC. A.655.11 – INV. 3484.

April 27, 1913 – Susa, Italy: lunch

Menu for Spumante Cinzano, Torino
Written in Italian – Italian Cuisine
2 pages, color chromolithograph print, view of Torino, advertisement on the back, printer and artist unknown.

This menu is part of a series of menus that advertise Cinzano sparkling wine “selected by the King of Italy for Court Dinners” dedicated to the artistic and natural wonders of Italy. There are 8 subjects in the series: Turin, Milan, Venice, Genoa, Florence, Rome, Naples and Palermo. Each menu cover contains a blank area where the menu was intended to be inserted. An inscription appears in the corner of the art nouveau style design.

[Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Advertisements].
COLLOC. A.655.12 – INV. 3400.

1910 circa – Italy: unfinished (list of dishes not included)

Menu for Stab. Vinicolo Enrico Cogliati & C., Empoli (PI)
1 page, color chromolithograph with gold overlays, Stab. Cambi, Firenze, illustrated by Giuseppe Anichini.

This menu cover is decorated with view of Empoli and the wine producer Cogliati. There is a cart full of wine bottles, an attractive young girl with a straw hat in the vineyards and a series of medals that frame the blank area for writing the dishes of the day. The cover is decorated in the art deco style and illustrated by Florentine painter Giuseppe Anichini (1862–1936), who worked with the Bemporad Publish House of Florence for years.

[Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Advertisements].
COLLOC. A.655.13 – INV. 3474.

1910 circa – Italy: unfinished (list of dishes not included)

1910 circa – Italy: unfinished (list of dishes not included)
Menu for Cognac Tenerelli, Catania
2 page, color chromolithograph print, illustrated, advertisement for Fattorie Tenerelli on the back, Tip. F.llI Armanino, Milan.

This decidedly art deco menu created to advertise Tenerelli Cognac was printed in Milan by Fratelli Armanino, a prized printing company during the first quarter of the 20th century. The menu presents a design of “Tito” that, in addition to the presence of the usual female figure, contains two extraordinary square graphics of grape leaves and grapes themselves. These emblematic graphics bring to mind the majolica pieces of Galileo Chini (1873-1956). They are as full of creativity as the cognac to be advertised. The paper part of the menu, in this case, was used to collect signatures of the participants of a banquet of unknown date and location.

[Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Advertisements].
COLLOC. A.655.29 – INV. 3563.

1910 circa – Italy: unfinished (list of dishes not included)

Menu for “Fonte Italia” Mineral Water, Rome
2 pages, chromolithograph print in color on the front and two-tone on the back, illustration by Roberto Cavi, Stab. A. Marzi, Rome

This menu comes from a series of decorative advertisement menus from the beginning of the 20th century. The graphic design is decidedly art nouveau and presents a picturesque view of Italy, signed by the beloved commercial artist Roberto Cavi (XIX–XX sec.). The menus in this series contain images of the most celebrated locations in Italy, including the Valentino castle in Turin, Bellagio at Lago di Como, the Riviera of Genoa, the view of Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo, the gulf of Sorrento, the ruins of Pompei, Garibaldi’s house in Caprera and the Greek theater in Taormina, Sicily. All of the menus were designed by Cavi, printed by the Stabilimento Marzi di Roma and personalized for promotions of various companies, as was common practice at the time. In this case, the menu was used to promote the transportation by sea of mineral water.  On the back of the menu, there is information about the mineral waters and an art deco design framing the area where the daily menu would be placed.

[Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Advertisements].
COLLOC. A.656.13 – INV. 3825.

1910 circa – Italy: unfinished (list of dishes not included)

Menu for “Fonte Italia” Mineral Water, Rome
2 pages, chromolithograph print in color on the front and two-tone on the back, illustration by Roberto Cavi, Stab. A. Marzi, Rome

This menu comes from a series of decorative advertisement menus from the beginning of the 20th century. The graphic design is decidedly art nouveau and presents a picturesque view of Italy, signed by the beloved commercial artist Roberto Cavi (XIX–XX sec.). The menus in this series contain images of the most celebrated locations in Italy, including the Valentino castle in Turin, Bellagio at Lago di Como, the Riviera of Genoa, the view of Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo, the gulf of Sorrento, the ruins of Pompei, Garibaldi’s house in Caprera and the Greek theater in Taormina, Sicily. All of the menus were designed by Cavi, printed by the Stabilimento Marzi di Roma and personalized for promotions of various companies, as was common practice at the time. In this case, the menu was used to promote the transportation by sea of mineral water.  On the back of the menu, there is information about the mineral waters and an art deco design framing the area where the daily menu would be placed.

[Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Advertisements].  
COLLOC. A.656.14 – INV. 3826.

1910 circa – Italy: unfinished (list of dishes not included)

Menu for “Fonte Italia” Mineral Water, Rome
2 pages, chromolithograph print in color on the front and two-tone on the back, illustration by Roberto Cavi, Stab. A. Marzi, Rome

This menu comes from a series of decorative advertisement menus from the beginning of the 20th century. The graphic design is decidedly art nouveau and presents a picturesque view of Italy, signed by the beloved commercial artist Roberto Cavi (XIX–XX sec.). The menus in this series contain images of the most celebrated locations in Italy, including the Valentino castle in Turin, Bellagio at Lago di Como, the Riviera of Genoa, the view of Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo, the gulf of Sorrento, the ruins of Pompei, Garibaldi’s house in Caprera and the Greek theater in Taormina, Sicily. All of the menus were designed by Cavi, printed by the Stabilimento Marzi di Roma and personalized for promotions of various companies, as was common practice at the time. In this case, the menu was used to promote the transportation by sea of mineral water.  On the back of the menu, there is information about the mineral waters and an art deco design framing the area where the daily menu would be placed.

[Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Advertisements].
COLLOC. A.656.15 – INV. 3832.

1910 circa – Italy: unfinished (list of dishes not included)

1910 circa – Italy: unfinished (list of dishes not included)

Menu for “Fonte Italia” Mineral Water, Rome
2 pages, chromolithograph print in color on the front and two-tone on the back, illustration by Roberto Cavi, Stab. A. Marzi, Rome

This menu comes from a series of decorative advertisement menus from the beginning of the 20th century. The graphic design is decidedly art nouveau and presents a picturesque view of Italy, signed by the beloved commercial artist Roberto Cavi (XIX–XX sec.). The menus in this series contain images of the most celebrated locations in Italy, including the Valentino castle in Turin, Bellagio at Lago di Como, the Riviera of Genoa, the view of Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo, the gulf of Sorrento, the ruins of Pompei, Garibaldi’s house in Caprera and the Greek theater in Taormina, Sicily. All of the menus were designed by Cavi, printed by the Stabilimento Marzi di Roma and personalized for promotions of various companies, as was common practice at the time. In this case, the menu was used to promote the transportation by sea of mineral water.  On the back of the menu, there is information about the mineral waters and an art deco design framing the area where the daily menu would be placed.

[Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Advertisements].
COLLOC. A.656.17 – INV. 3839.

1910 circa – Italy: unfinished (list of dishes not included)

Menu for “Fonte Italia” Mineral Water, Rome
2 pages, chromolithograph print in color on the front and two-tone on the back, illustration by Roberto Cavi, Stab. A. Marzi, Rome

This menu comes from a series of decorative advertisement menus from the beginning of the 20th century. The graphic design is decidedly art nouveau and presents a picturesque view of Italy, signed by the beloved commercial artist Roberto Cavi (XIX–XX sec.). The menus in this series contain images of the most celebrated locations in Italy, including the Valentino castle in Turin, Bellagio at Lago di Como, the Riviera of Genoa, the view of Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo, the gulf of Sorrento, the ruins of Pompei, Garibaldi’s house in Caprera and the Greek theater in Taormina, Sicily. All of the menus were designed by Cavi, printed by the Stabilimento Marzi di Roma and personalized for promotions of various companies, as was common practice at the time. In this case, the menu was used to promote the transportation by sea of mineral water.  On the back of the menu, there is information about the mineral waters and an art deco design framing the area where the daily menu would be placed.

[Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Advertisements].
COLLOC. A.658.18 – INV. 3841.

1911– Italy: unfinished (list of dishes not included)

Menu for SVIC – Società Vinicola Italiana, (Italian Viticulture Society), Casteggio (PV)
1 page, color lithograph print, illustrated.

The menu is decorated with happy flag-wavers and figures in medieval costume in Florence with the church of Santa Maria del Fiore in the background. It was created for the jury of the 1911 Expo in Turin.

[Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Advertisements].
COLLOC. A.655.20 – INV. 3478.

February 22, 1913 – Como, Italy, Ristorante San Gottardo: lunch

In honor of the return from Libya
Menu for IGEA Mineral Water, Darfo–Boario Terme (BS)
Written in Italian – Italian Cuisine
1 page, color lithograph print, illustrated

On the back of the menu there are signatures of the people who had returned from Libya and attending the banquet.

[Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Advertisements].
COLLOC. A.656.09 – INV. 3323.

1920 circa – Italy: unfinished (list of dishes not included)

Menu for Spumante F.lli Gancia, Canelli (CN)
1 page, color chromolithograph print, Litografia Doyen, Turin, illustrated by L. Simondetti.

This menu is part of a small-format menu series advertising Gancia Spumante. The menus have ironic designs, composed of 3 subjects: a young blond girl who stops dancing to hug a giant bottle of sparkling wine; a small cupid who, after having popped the cork, tries to stop the spumante from pouring out of the bottle using his hands; and a food-loving monk eating a dining on oysters and sparkling wine. Each menu contains enough blank space for inserting the list of dishes and an inscription, unique for each menu, on topside.

[Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Advertisements].
COLLOC. A.655.14 – INV. 3465.

1920 circa – Italy: unfinished (list of dishes not included)

1920 circa – Italy: unfinished (list of dishes not included)

Menu for Spumante F.lli Gancia, Canelli (CN)
1 page, color chromolithograph print, Litografia Doyen, Turin, illustrated by L. Simondetti.

This menu is part of a small-format menu series advertising Gancia Spumante. The menus have ironic designs, composed of 3 subjects: a young blond girl who stops dancing to hug a giant bottle of sparkling wine; a small cupid who, after having popped the cork, tries to stop the spumante from pouring out of the bottle using his hands; and a food-loving monk eating a dining on oysters and sparkling wine. Each menu contains enough blank space for inserting the list of dishes and an inscription, unique for each menu, on topside.

[Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Advertisements].
COLLOC. A.655.16 – INV. 3467.

1920 circa – Italy: unfinished (list of dishes not included)

Menu for San Pellegrino Mineral Water, San Pellegrino Terme (BG)
Written in Italian – Italian Cuisine

1 page, color lithograph print, illustrated, Tip. Barabino, Genoa

[Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Advertisements]. 
COLLOC. A.656.04 – INV. 3565.

1930 circa – Italy: lunch

Menu for Asti Spumante SIVS, Casale Monferrato (CN)
Written in Italian – Italian Cuisine
1 page, color lithograph print, illustrated by G. Boano.

This menu created to advertise Asti Spumante, a product of the Società Italiana Vini Superiori, has an ironic and joking tone. The food listed on the menu is rustic, or homemade, and served for the celebration of San Giuseppe.

[Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Advertisements].
COLLOC. A.656.04 – INV. 3565.

July 30, 1935 – Italy, Salsomaggiore Terme (PR), Hotel Grande Detraz: lunch and dinner

July 30, 1935 – Italy, Salsomaggiore Terme (PR), Hotel Grande Detraz: lunch and dinner
Menu for Nocera Umbra Mineral Water, Nocera Umbra (PG)
Written in Italian – International Cuisine
1 page, color lithograph print, illustrated, IGRA, Novara

The menu contains a modest view of ladies in a garden with a swan in a late. The menu itself was typed with a typewriter. This document is particularly interesting because of its origin. The Hotel Grande Detraz is located in a small city in Emilia with the most beautiful spas in the world, decorated by Galileo Chini (1873–1956) between 1919 and 1923. The wines and waters, of course,  are listed on the back.

[Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Advertisements].
COLLOC. A.656.11 – INV. 1624.