Silvio Barbieri together with his brother Luigi presented a new distillate at the Campoonaria Fair in Padua in June 1919, the Aperol aperitif. In Prato della Valle the distillate based on cinchona, gentian and rhubarb is officially presented. Silvio, returning from a long stay in Paris, baptizes the new creature by cloning a word he has heard many times among the tables of the Champs-Élysées: Aperò, say the French for an aperitif; Aperol, say the Barbieri, at the helm of the company born from a small workshop opened by his father Giuseppe forty years earlier in 1880. Aperol is an alcoholic aperitif, with a red-orange color and a bitter sweet taste, obtained by infusing orange, herbs (including rhubarb) and roots in alcohol. The secret recipe has remained unchanged from its inception. Aperol is often paired with other drinks to form cocktails, the best known of which is spritz.
Since its inception, Aperol has a distinctive orange color. Given the success of the product, the Barbieri producers decide to invest in advertising: in the 1920s, orange becomes the chromatic signature of Aperol and the first advertising posters appear in bars inviting people to consume an Aperol. In 1991 Fratelli Barbieri was acquired by Barbero 1891 which, in turn, in December 2003, became the property of the Campari Group.
The Campari group originated in 1860 by Gaspare Campari in Milan with the founding of the liquor factory. In 1882, on the death of the founder, one of his five sons, Davide, introduced fundamental changes transforming the company into one of the best known abroad: from "Liquoreria Campari" to "Gaspare Campari-Fratelli Campari successori" in 1902 and then "Davide Campari & C.". The latter invested heavily in communication, so much so that various advertising posters were designed by Fortunato Depero (who designed the original Campari Soda bottle in 1928), Marcello Dudovich, Marcello Nizzoli, Erberto Carboni, Leonetto Cappiello, Bruno Munari (who designed in 1964 the famous manifesto). The first signatures "Bitter" and "Cordial" were registered in 1888 together with the heraldic coat of arms of the family "... formed by a shield with the figure of two crouched dogs and surmounted by a helmet with ornamental foliage". In its history, Campari has modified the brand several times, even substantially, as it has voluntarily translated its graphic language into the stylistic stamps of the various moments of art, fashion and taste. This attitude towards communication, i.e. not appearing with the same brand, has become typical, imitable and defined as an “open coordinated image”. In 1987 it became necessary to definitively fix the graphic standards which was carried out by G&R Associati operating a sort of restoration, of philological work on the logotypes after a century of graphic stratifications. The most recurrent ones were selected starting from the foundation, and the Campari logotype registered in 1912, the most used since the second post-war period, was chosen.
In 1995, Campari closed its first acquisition, marking the beginning of a strategy that still today combines 50% organic growth and 50% growth through acquisitions. Each brand that has joined the group since then carries with it its unique history and identity.