BOLOGNA, LATE 19TH CENTURY
Bologna, in the bars under the arcades of the centre, people fantasise about journeys
epic journeys, of flight and speed. The gaze widens beyond the province:
the discovery of exotic countries, new trade,
the yearning for freedom and progress.
It is in this context that Amaro Montenegro was born,
the realisation of an ideal that its creator matured after
having travelled and experimented with a spirit of adventure.
Stanislao Cobianchi was born in 1862. A proud young man and passionate
alchemist, he turned away from the religious education imposed on him by his
religious upbringing imposed on him by his family, who wanted him to be a priest.
teenager, on a merchant ship in search of adventure. The discovery of
unusual botanical specialities dazzles him and, back in Italy, he decides to
dedicate himself to the preparation of liqueurs and elixirs. In 1885, after four years of
rigorous experiments, he formulated Amaro Montenegro and founded
the 'Cobianchi Stanislao Distilleria a vapore'.
Our Amaro was born in 1885 under the name Elisir Lungavita and obtained
considerable recognition immediately.
Only eleven years later, on the occasion of the marriage of the charming
Princess Elena of Montenegro to Prince Victor Emmanuel III,
Stanislao decided to dedicate his elixir to that regal figure,
thus changing the name to Amaro Montenegro.
In a short time, Amaro Montenegro spread throughout Europe. The first Expositions
Universal Expositions decreed its success and, as the
honours, its label was enriched with medals: Brussels in 1898,
followed by Hamburg, Prague, Naples, Marseilles, Milan and Amsterdam.
Amaro Montenegro's reputation also grew at home:
it was Gabriele D'Annunzio, in 1921, who described it as a 'liqueur of virtues'.
Alcohol content: 23 degrees.