Lazzaroni () is the brand name related to several
biscuits and bakery products manufactured by the
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
company D. Lazzaroni & C. Spa.
Lazzaroni is a well-known Italian brand thanks to products such as
Amaretti di Saronno
Amaretti di Saronno (; singular amaretto di Saronno) refer to a type of ''amaretto'', a bitter-sweet flavored macaron, that is traditional to Saronno, a comune of Lombardy, Italy. It is one of many types of traditional amaretti, but the only o ...
. Lazzaroni was the first Italian company to produce biscuits
industrially, and has been marketing Lazzaroni branded biscuits and pastries since 1888.
History
The Lazzaroni family, led by Carlo Lazzaroni, moved from
Valtellina
Valtellina or the Valtelline (occasionally spelled as two words in English: Val Telline; rm, Vuclina (); lmo, Valtelina or ; german: Veltlin; it, Valtellina) is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Toda ...
to
Saronno
Saronno (; lmo, Saronn ) is a ''comune'' of Lombardy, Italy, in the province of Varese. It received the honorary title of city with a presidential decree in 1960. With an estimated population of 39,351 inhabitants, it is the most densely populated ...
at the beginning of the 18th century, starting the artisanal production of
Amaretti di Saronno
Amaretti di Saronno (; singular amaretto di Saronno) refer to a type of ''amaretto'', a bitter-sweet flavored macaron, that is traditional to Saronno, a comune of Lombardy, Italy. It is one of many types of traditional amaretti, but the only o ...
. The business was continued by Carlo's sons Paolo and Davide. Paolo moved to
Monza in the mid-19th century, starting the production of
mostarda
''Mostarda di frutta '' (sometime also called ''mostarda'') is a Northern Italian condiment made of candied fruit and a mustard-flavoured syrup. Commercially the essential oil of mustard is employed, which has the advantage of transparency; in ho ...
and
liqueurs. Davide continued to produce amaretti, in Saronno in front of the cathedral, at that time served by horse transport. With the advent of the
rail transport
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...
, Luigi Lazzaroni (son of Davide) joined the company and in 1888 the partners founded D. Lazzaroni & C., a new legal entity and a new manufacturing facility.
In the following years, the company enjoyed great success, making 350 different types of biscuits and exporting its products world-wide; this was symbolized by the brand logo, which included
steam boat. It was in this period that biscuits such as Oswego, Nutritivo, Croccale and Germovita made their debut.
In 1984, the American
multinational Campbell's
Campbell Soup Company, doing business as Campbell's, is an American processed food and snack company. The company is most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products; however, through mergers and acquisitions, it has grown to become ...
acquired the firm in order to pursue an ambitious
internationalization
In economics, internationalization or internationalisation is the process of increasing involvement of enterprises in international markets, although there is no agreed definition of internationalization. Internationalization is a crucial strateg ...
strategy. In 1991, the Italian firm Citterio, a producer of
ham
Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term "ham ...
,
salami
Salami ( ) is a cured sausage consisting of fermented and air-dried meat, typically pork. Historically, salami was popular among Southern, Eastern, and Central European peasants because it can be stored at room temperature for up to 45 days ...
and fresh
pasta
Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Rice flour, or legumes such as beans or lentils, ar ...
, acquired the company.
The nineties and the beginning of the 2000s saw ups and downs of the company, from financial difficulties to the relocation of production, which took place in 2004, to the Isola del Gran Sasso plant.
In 2008, the company was acquired by the Ragosta Group with the goal of rejuvenating the Lazzaroni brand after a strong restructuring process.
Products
File:amarettidisaronno.png, Amaretti di Saronno
File:frolle.png, Frollini
File:latte litografiche.png, Vintage tin boxes
Lazzaroni's offers its traditional bakery products and the "original Amaretti di Saronno" (sold in the typical lithograph-decorated tin boxes), and many breakfast biscuits and cookies ("frollini"), pastries and pastry assortments. During the holidays, Lazzaroni also sells
panettone
Panettone (, ; lmo, label= Milanese, panetton ) is an Italian type of sweet bread, and fruitcake, originally from Milan, usually prepared and enjoyed for Christmas and New Year in Western, Southern, and Southeastern Europe as well as in South ...
of
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
and the
Colomba Pasquale
Colomba pasquale or colomba di Pasqua ("Easter Dove" in English) is an Italian traditional Easter bread, the counterpart of the two well-known Italian Christmas desserts, panettone and pandoro.
The dough for the colomba is made in a similar m ...
. In 2010, the company introduced a
gluten-free
A gluten-free diet (GFD) is a nutritional plan that strictly excludes gluten, which is a mixture of proteins found in wheat (and all of its species and hybrids, such as spelt, kamut, and triticale), as well as barley, rye, and oats. The inclus ...
product range.
Cultural references
In the novel ''
La caccia al tesoro
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
* "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...
'' by
Andrea Camilleri
Andrea Calogero Camilleri (; 6 September 1925 – 17 July 2019) was an Italian writer.
Biography
Originally from Porto Empedocle, Girgenti, Sicily, Camilleri began university studies in the Faculty of Literature at the University of Palermo, ...
, published in 2010,
Inspector Montalbano receives an anonymous parcel containing a Lazzaroni lithographed box with the words "Fornitori della Real Casa" (literally "Suppliers of the Royal House") on it, a title formerly awarded to manufacturers who became official suppliers for the
House of Savoy.
Also in 2010, some red tin boxes of Amaretti di Saronno appeared in a scene of the
fantasy film ''
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1
''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1'' is a 2010 fantasy film directed by David Yates from a screenplay by Steve Kloves. The film is the first of two cinematic parts based on the 2007 novel ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow ...
''.
See also
*
List of Italian companies
Italy is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe with the third largest nominal GDP in the Eurozone and the eighth largest in the world. As an advanced economy the country also has the sixth worldwide national wealth and it is ranked third ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Lazzaroni(biscuits)
Lazzaroni(liqueurs and bitters)
Italian brands
1888 establishments in Italy
Food and drink companies established in 1888
Confectionery companies of Italy