N.42
August 25th, 2026 – Eleonora Corradi
Rossana candy enters Italian homes.
Between the 1930s and the 1950s, Rossana spread throughout Italy, and by the 1960s it had become a traditional product, often purchased as a small gift as well.
Television helped make it even more famous. In the 1970s and 1980s, Rossana appeared in numerous television commercials broadcast during Carosello, Rai‘s historic advertising program that, from 1957 to 1977, transformed many commercial products into true protagonists of Italian popular culture.
Advertising reinforced the image of the “Lady in Red”: elegant, sweet, and a little sophisticated. By the 1990s and 2000s, Rossana was considered a Made in Italy classic, recognizable above all thanks to that wrapper, which had changed very little over the decades.
Rossana candy changes family.
After ninety years of history, an important change came in 2016. The Rossana brand was purchased by Fida, a historic Italian company specializing in candy production.
For Rossana lovers, the news may have seemed worrying: what would happen to their Rossana? In reality, Fida decided to preserve the essential elements of the original (its shape, flavor, and famous red wrapper) while at the same time relaunching the brand.
The strategy worked and also opened the door to some experimentation. Rossana Cioccolato arrived in 2018; in 2019, the famous filling even became a spreadable cream; in 2022, the Sicilian pistachio version was created, with its distinctive green center.
Rossana candy at 100: nostalgia or the future?
In 2026, Rossana therefore celebrates its first century of life. One hundred years is an extraordinary age for any product, especially in an era when tastes, fashions, and habits are constantly changing.
Perhaps the secret of its longevity lies precisely in the balance between past and present. Rossana has introduced new flavors and new products, but it has never abandoned its identity. The original candy still has its hard shell, its creamy center, and above all that little red and gold dress that generations of Italians recognize immediately.
Ultimately, Rossana’s success tells us something that goes beyond a simple candy. Everyday objects can become containers of memories: a kitchen, a visit to one’s grandparents, a bowl full of candies on the table, a hand offering one while simply asking: “Would you like one?”
And perhaps this is the most surprising gift for Rossana’s hundredth birthday: discovering that, after a century, inside that little red wrapper there is not only a candy. There is also a little piece of Italian history.
DID YOU KNOW?
Rossana is not the only “centenarian” among Italy’s most famous sweets, but belongs to a whole generation of treats that have celebrated a century of life. Among them is Bacio Perugina, with its unmistakable silver wrapper and the little message of love hidden inside, created in 1922, four years before Rossana. Even older is the Gianduiotto, the famous Piedmontese chocolate made with cocoa and hazelnuts, created in Turin in the nineteenth century and now one of the symbols of the Italian chocolate-making tradition.
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E ORA TOCCA A VOI!
Abbinare ogni parola alla definizione corretta. Match each word with the correct definition.
incarto / ripieno / guscio / salotto buono / credenza / ciotola / decennio / secolo
A. Periodo di cento anni.
B. Mobile della cucina o della sala usato per conservare piatti, bicchieri, tovaglie o alimenti.
C. Parte esterna, generalmente più dura, che protegge o contiene qualcosa.
D. Recipiente rotondo, generalmente più piccolo e profondo di un piatto, usato per contenere alimenti o altri piccoli oggetti.
E. Carta o altro materiale usato per avvolgere e proteggere un prodotto.
F. Stanza della casa particolarmente curata e tradizionalmente riservata agli ospiti o alle occasioni importanti.
G. Periodo di dieci anni.
H. Ingrediente o preparazione che si trova all’interno di un alimento.
