Christmas 2020, the historical confectioner partners with the two main Milanese art galleries for the packaging of its panettone
With its new line of exclusive Panettoni, Giovanni Cova & C. celebrates Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, known as Raphael, on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of his death. His masterpieces and his unmistakable trait come to life in the wrappings of the most traditional Christmas cake, panettone. An initiative of great artistic stature, made possible thanks to the collaboration with Pinacoteca Ambrosiana and Pinacoteca di Brera, extraordinarily united for Raphael’s celebrations. Andrea Muzzi, AD of Giovanni Cova & C., explains: “For some years now, we have undertaken a path of valorization of the Italian artistic heritage, especially linked to the excellence of Milan. This is because with each of our products we want to continue to generate emotions and feelings through new sensory experiences.”
The RAFFAELLO LINE is a journey between taste and beauty, where the works blend with the tradition of Giovanni Cova & C., icon of craftsmanship in the Milanese confectionery, selector not only of ingredients and raw materials, but also master in the creation of refined, exclusive, and recognizable packaging.
For over 400 years, the wonderful preparatory cartoon of Raffaello’s ‘The School of Athens’ has been in Pinacoteca Ambrosiana. The work, a symbol of pictorial perfection and painted in the Stanza della Segnatura in the Vatican, was recently subject to an extensive restoration that lasted four years. And this Christmas, its reproduction will wrap Panettone GRANCIOCCOLATO® with hazelnut grains. While the Panettone CLASSICO, awarded with the Three Stars by the International Taste and Quality Institute, will be wrapped in the reproduction of Raphael’s ‘The Marriage of the Virgin.’ The masterpiece that marked the entrance of the very young Urbino artist into the Olympus of great art. And which is currently safeguarded in Pinacoteca di Brera. Thus, the panettone born from the confectionery tradition of Giovanni Cova & C., the Milanese and Italian dessert par excellence that represents Italy all over the world, will help to rediscover and promote an entire chapter of the Italian Renaissance and its art. Indeed, a gift book with the exclusive description of the works realized by the two Milanese art galleries will enrich every single package. This will come with six discount coupons, worth a total of 30 euros, for the entrance to the exhibitions from December 2020 to June 2021.
The panettone born from the confectionery tradition of Giovanni Cova & C., the Milanese and Italian dessert par excellence that represents Italy all over the world, will help to rediscover and promote an entire chapter of the Italian Renaissance and its art.
The story of Giovanni Cova & C. began in 1930 when two confectioners, Agostino Panigada and Giovanni Cova, opened a confectionery workshop in Viale Monza, Milan. To underline the primacy of the “luxury panettone”, at the time advertising posters were put up that told the story of the wonderful leavened cake. In them, the logo depicted a showy royal crown, the same one that continues to shine on the brand today. The Muzzi family currently owns the famous pastry brand that this year celebrates the 90th anniversary of its foundation.
About the undergoing collaboration, Monsignor Marco Ballarini, Prefect of Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, commented: “Since 1609, the Venerable Ambrosian Library, built by Federico Borromeo in the geometric center of the city of Milan, is a reference point for all those who are looking for truth and beauty. With its prestigious collections of manuscripts and very rare printed books, in addition to the picture gallery, it is the oldest museum in the city. Ambrosiana has always been a place of meeting and research, comparison, and collaboration with cultural, institutional, and entrepreneurial realities. For the second year in a row, it is pleased to collaborate with Giovanni Cova & C., whose brand is a guarantee of high-quality confectionery products that follow the rigorous Milanese tradition. The year 2020, dedicated to the anniversary of Raphael, becomes an occasion to support the Pinacoteca di Brera, custodian of another precious table of the Master from Urbino. With innovative methods, once again art, culture, and tradition, in their many and varied forms, find a way to tell each other, narrating together the wonders that Milan can offer.”
While, James Bradburne, Director of Pinacoteca di Brera, said: “In recent years Pinacoteca di Brera has shown that forms of collaboration between public and private, aimed at enhancing the artistic heritage, are not only possible but essential for a museum that aims to renew itself and maintain its international vocation. In the year of the artist’s death anniversary, the initiative with Giovanni Cova & C. celebrates in an original form, one of the greatest masterpieces of the Brera collection, ‘The Marriage of the Virgin’, linking the Pinacoteca to a brand of excellence. This collaboration is also a deeply “Milanese” affair. On the one hand, because it puts Brera in contact with the history of the city’s pastry art. On the other, because it allows the museum to collaborate with another nerve center of Milanese culture, the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana.”