Parties and Holidays

February, 12 1929 – Rome, Italy, Hotel Excelsior: dinner.

November, 24 1927 – Rome, Italy, Hotel Excelsior: lunch

November, 29 1928 – Rome, Italy, Hotel Excelsior: lunch

December 24, 1903 – Rome, Italy, Grand Hotel Marini: lunch

December 24, 1931 – San Remo, Italy, Restaurant of the Casino: dinner

December, 24 1933 – Rome, Italy, Hotel Excelsior: lunch

December 24, 1936 – Rome, Italy, Hotel Excelsior: lunch

December 24, 1938 – Rome, Italy, Hotel Excelsior: lunch

December 31, 1929 – Rome, Italy, Hotel Excelsior: dinner

December 31, 1932 – Rome, Italy, Hotel Excelsior: dinner

December, 31 1935 – Rome, Italy, Hotel Excelsior: dinner

Many of the menus in the Academia Barilla Menu Collection were created for parties and holiday events celebrated, for the most part, in high-end hotels and restaurants. There are menus from Carnival, or Mardi Gras, dinner parties to Easter lunches to a Thanksgiving Day banquet held at the Hotel Excelsior of Rome for the Americans in the eternal city. There are also menus, designed reflects to style and tastes of the period, from Christmas banquets and New Year’s Eve galas. Looking at the menus chronologically, one notices a move from international cuisine (heavily influenced by the French) to dishes more closely tied to the Italian gastronomic tradition.

	February, 12 1929 – Rome, Italy, Hotel Excelsior: dinner. Carnival Party Written in French – International Cuisine 4 pages, color chromolithograph print. [Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Parties and Holidays: Carnival]. COLLOC. A.353.01 – INV. 2300.
	April 23, 1916 – Italy: lunch Easter Written in Italian – Italian Cuisine 1 page, lithograph print and hand-written menu At the end of the menu for this rich and elegant meal served with fine wines, the guests were served the traditional Italian dove-shaped Easter cake called colomba. [Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Parties and Holidays: Easter]. COLLOC. A.355.01 – INV. 3327.
	November, 24 1927 – Rome, Italy, Hotel Excelsior: lunch Thanksgiving Written in English – American Cuisine 1 page, letterpress The Hotel Excelsior in Rome offered the American residents in Rome the chance to celebrate Thanksgiving with a special menu (not photographed here, but similar to the menus from 1928 and 1929). The Hotel even invited a jazz band to play during the gala – a real rarity for Italy at the time. [Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Parties and Holidays: Thanksgiving]. COLLOC. A.356.01 – INV. 2398.
	November, 29 1928 – Rome, Italy, Hotel Excelsior: lunch Thanksgiving Written in English – American Cuisine 1 page, letterpress with flag printed in chromolithograph The Hotel Excelsior Rome created a special Thanksgiving lunch menu for the Americans living in Rome. [Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Parties and Holidays: Thanksgiving]. COLLOC. A.356.02 – INV. 2399.
	Thanksgiving Written in English – American Cuisine 1 page, letterpress with flag (since lost) printed in chromolithograph The Hotel Excelsior Rome created a special Thanksgiving lunch menu for the Americans living in Rome. [Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Parties and Holidays: Thanksgiving]. COLLOC. A.356.03 – INV. 2400.
	December 24, 1903 – Rome, Italy, Grand Hotel Marini: lunch Christmas Banquet Written in French – International Cuisine 4 pages, color chromolithograph print, embossed, Stabilimento Marzi, Rome A rich menu for the Christmas banquet held at the hotel operated by Eugène Marini in Rome, located just steps from via del Corso e da Montecitorio. The beautiful menu (now with the spine broken) is decorated with an auspicious image of a young girl offering flowers held inside a horseshoe and a crown meant to bring good luck. On the back, there is the elegant list of dishes, including oysters, salmon, asparagus and pheasant, Champagne sorbet, desserts and ice cream. On the inside, there is a map of downtown Rome with information about the hotel and the main offices and services of the hotel. Hotel Marini was one of the first hotels to install electricity in all the bedrooms. [Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Parties and Holidays: Christmas]. COLLOC. A.357.20 – INV. 2475.
	December 24, 1931 – San Remo, Italy, Restaurant of the Casino: dinner Christmas Eve Written in French – International Cuisine 2 pages, color letterpress Menu from an elegant gala dinner. The wines are not listed on the menu. The Art Deco images depict the inside of the restaurant of the Casino of San Remo on the Ligurian Coast. [Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Parties and Holidays: Christmas]. COLLOC. A.357.07 – INV. 4673.
	December, 24 1933 – Rome, Italy, Hotel Excelsior: lunch Christmas Banquet Written in French – International Cuisine 1 page, lithograph print, Tipografia Menaglia, Rome Rich menu from the Christmas banquet held at the Hotel Excelsior of Rome. The wines are not listed on the menu. There are many similarities between the dishes on this menu and those on the 1931 menu from the Casino of San Remo. The image of mistletoe is intended to be a symbol of good luck in the year to come. [Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Parties and Holidays: Christmas]. COLLOC. A.357.10 – INV. 2434.
	December 24, 1936 – Rome, Italy, Hotel Excelsior: lunch Christmas Banquet Written in Italian – International Cuisine 2 pages, lithograph print, illustrated by Ugo Giammusso The menu, even having been written in Italian, recalls the menus from previous years with elegant dishes. Ugo Giammusso (Caltanisetta, 1908 – Rome, 1977) worked in advertising until the late 1930s designing postcards and flyers for Ala Littoria and the Hotel Excelsior in Rome. In 1940, he designed in collaboration with Corrado Mancioli the well-known poster for the Triennial of Oltremare. This was an important example of the monumental graphics of the government, which was already in decline. After the war, Giammusso worked alongside other artists like Onorato and De Seta in the field of movie illustration. [Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Parties and Holidays: Christmas]. COLLOC. A.357.14 – INV. 2465.
	December 24, 1938 – Rome, Italy, Hotel Excelsior: lunch Christmas Banquet Written in Italian – Italian Cuisine 2 pages, lithograph print, illustrated by Ugo Giammusso The menu is a reflection of the Italianization of high-end dining in Italy during the period. It is however very elegant and intended for an international audience. Ugo Giammusso (Caltanisetta, 1908 – Rome, 1977) worked in advertising until the late 1930s designing postcards and flyers for Ala Littoria and the Hotel Excelsior in Rome. In 1940, he designed in collaboration with Corrado Mancioli the well-known poster for the Triennial of Oltremare. This was an important example of the monumental graphics of the government, which was already in decline. After the war, Giammusso worked alongside other artists like Onorato and De Seta in the field of movie illustration. [Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Parties and Holidays: Christmas]. COLLOC. A.357.15 – INV. 2351.
	December 31, 1929 – Rome, Italy, Hotel Excelsior: dinner New Year’s Eve Written in Italian – International Cuisine 4 pages, lithograph, illustrated Elegant menu for New Year’s Eve. Wines are not listed. The very elegant cover design was done in the art nouveau style. [Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Parties and Holidays: New Year’s Eve]. COLLOC. A.358.03 – INV. 2335.
	December 31, 1932 – Rome, Italy, Hotel Excelsior: dinner New Year’s Eve Written in Italian – International Cuisine 1 page, lithograph, Tipografia Menaglia, Rome New Year’s Eve menu with very simple graphics. [Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Parties and Holidays: New Year’s Eve]. COLLOC. A.358.07 – INV. 2426.
	December, 31 1935 – Rome, Italy, Hotel Excelsior: dinner New Year’s Eve Written in Italian – Italian Cuisine 4 pages, color chromolithograph print, illustrated New Year’s Eve menu. The list of dishes or,“Lista delle vivande,” is closely tied to Italian gastronomic tradition. The graphics are primarily art deco in style. [Academia Barilla Gastronomic Library - Italy – Parties and Holidays: New Year’s Eve]. COLLOC. A.358.09 – INV. 2450.