Gaspare Campari

Who was Gaspare Campari?

Gaspare Campari was an Italian drink maker.

Born in Cassolnovo, Lombardy, he was a master drink maker at the Bass Bar in Turin, the major commercial centre for aperitif products, by the age 14. His recipe contained more than 60 natural ingredients including herbs, spices, barks and fruit peels. The company still keeps the complete recipe confidential today.

During the 1840s Campari sold his product throughout Italy. In 1860 he founded the Gruppo Campari in Milan. Meanwhile France and Italy became rivals to one another in aperitif production and consumption. Aperitif makers began incorporating the labels with the names of cities like Italy, Turin and Milan as they distributed the products from city to city.

In 1862 he remarried and settled in Milan, the home of his second wife. He ran a cafe in front of Milan's historic cathedral, the Duomo. He also opened up Cafe Campari nearby.