Luisa Spagnoli

Luisa Sargentini was born in Perugia to fishmonger Pasquale Sargentini and housewife Maria Lo Conte from Ariano Irpino. At the age of 21, she married Annibale Spagnoli, with whom she had three sons, Mario, Armando and Aldo, and a daughter, Maria. The couple acquired a grocery store and started the production of dragées.

Perugina

With Francesco Buitoni, Spagnoli founded the small company Perugina, headquartered in the historical center of her hometown of Perugia. Perugina initially began with 15 employees.

With the outbreak of World War I when men had to leave for the front, Spagnoli was left to carry on the business alone with her three children, including two sons Mario and Aldo, taking care of them all by herself. After the war, the Perugina factory grew to more than 100 employees.

In 1922, a brand of Italian chocolates called Baci ("Kisses") was created. The recipe for Baci now, nearly around 100 years since it was created, remains the same: dark chocolate, gianduia, chopped hazelnuts and crowned with a whole hazelnut.

By 1939, after her death, her chocolate brand Baci Perugina was so successful that it arrived in other countries including the US.