The Vicenzi Group was established in 1905 in San Giovanni Lupatoto, at the gates of Verona, as a small bakery and grocery where Matilde Vicenzi, left a widow by her husband Sante, continued the family’s business of biscuit and pastry production, especially renowned for their amaretti (macaroons) and sfogliatelle (puff pastries). In 1912 at the Milan trade fair, Angelo and Bepi, Matilde’s sons, purchased the first cookie drop machine. This leads to the entrepreneurial vocation that accompanies Angelo throughout the years at the helm of the company. In 1950 Giuseppe continued his father’s semi-homemade activities and, accompanied by his siblings Mario and Beppina, takes the first steps towards industrialisation. In 1968 With the purchase of the first automatic line, Giuseppe Vicenzi specialises in amaretto production. Pastry Matilde Vicenzi offers its classic Italian amaretto, from the typical sweet taste bitter and dry type, for which he received, first in Italy, the product certification. The invention of amaretto has been bestowed with an appropriately Renaissance-tinged treatment. In the early 18th century, a Milanese bishop cardinal surprised the town of Saronno with a visit, where a young couple who were residents of the town welcomed him and paid tribute with an original confection: on the spur of the moment, they had baked biscuits made of sugar, egg whites, and crushed apricot kernels or almonds. These so pleased the visiting bishop that he blessed the two with a happy and lifelong marriage, resulting in the preservation of the secret recipe over many generations.