The neighbourhood patisserie, a very characteristic historical place. Quality is the keyword: the patisserie’s showcase is rich and very inviting. And among croissants, pastries, cakes and sweets of all kinds, the choice is difficult.
Together with the Urban District of Commerce we met Mario Camponuovo, historical owner and this is his story:
"Mario Camponuovo is an elegant, determined and very organised man. We meet him for a coffee in the historic Pasticceria Camponuovo in Borgo Santa Caterina (now run by La Marianna).
He arrives at our appointment carrying a folder under his arm in which he accurately placed all the paper material of the many initiatives created over the years by the neighbourhood’s shopkeepers.
We settle in the recently renovated premises, where, however, the oven that has been used by he and his father for many years has been left in plain sight. A memory, but also a good omen for the future.
However, he does not tell us much about the patisserie that bears his name - the one opened by his father at the end of the forties. He is more interested in talking about 'his' neighbourhood, where he grew up and worked for a lifetime.
Mario was nine years old when he made deliveries for his father, using a van without a license plate and, often, "starting a police chase" behind his unlikely breakaways.
He was amused, especially when the police reported the matter to his father, who replied: “I know who he is! He was a worker of mine, but I kicked him out.”
Mr Giovanni Camponuovo, his father, was known to have been a quick witted and intelligent man. He is said to have built his first oven from the crumpled sheet of an aeroplane that had crashed from the Fara during wartime.
"It was perfect - adds Mario – it baked fantastically!".
The post-war years were years of great vitality. The Borgo d'Oro welcomed merchants to the city for their business and offered as many as six taverns. There was also the Albergo dell'Angelo which was often frequented by personalities from the entertainment industry (among others, he says, there were Tognazzi and Celentano).
The shopkeepers had a willingness to work together to offer, to those who passed through this transit route, the best reception and the best products.
The Pasticceria Camponuovo was one of the promoters of the first association that brought together the city’s pastry chefs. The project had the courageous ambition to raise the quality of everyone's products, starting with the choice of raw materials and processing. There was training and everyone was able to work well.
Mario has a solid memory and very clear ideas: he does not use the word 'traders', but rather 'shopkeepers'. The latter are distinguished, in his opinion, because they do their job “by loving the place where they are and taking care of it personally. They are those who know their rights and their duties and who first commit themselves to sweeping the road in front of their business, without waiting for someone else to do it”.
Then, with more than a little bit of pride, he adds: “Thirty-five years ago, when we started to form the first group of shopkeepers, we had a clear idea that if we worked to make the neighbourhood more attractive and liveable, we would all benefit”.
So they began, first by buying Christmas lights together and then to organise two important events such as Santa Lucia and Carnival.
The idea was simple. Doing things with love, sharing a little beauty with everyone. People would come, attracted to this and there (as expected by a good marketing idea) they would spend money and do their shopping. The circle closed perfectly.
But there was also something else, the authentic desire to do something good besides one's work.
So they also organised the first fundraisers for social projects or emergencies (as in the case of the 1980 Irpinia earthquake) or sensitisation activities in the neighbourhood schools.
In the nineties, for example, they gave life to the Amico Negozio Project in collaboration with Confesercenti. This was to inform children of the possibility, if they needed, to enter the shops for particular necessities such as calling home, drinking a glass of water or feeling more safe.
It was therefore a matter of informing families and children of the availability of the shops that had joined (signalled by a window sticker designed by the children themselves) to be welcoming places and trusted people to whom they could approach with serenity.
It was a simple idea of good neighbourliness. It recognised the social role, first and foremost, of the shopkeepers, active and present in the area and also, at least in part, guaranteeing the safety and good image of the neighbourhood.
Mario speaks about himself and his life in the neighbourhood without ever distinguishing whether the things he’s done are for work, leisure or volunteer work.
Everything is part of the same story, of the same man, of who has lived his life in fullness, putting knowledge and generosity into circulation.
Then, suddenly, he says goodbye with a big smile and leaves. The Alpini are waiting for him to organise the next community dinner with polenta and cassoeula.
It is no coincidence that the new owners of the premises have generously left the historical sign "Pasticceria Camponuovo". A tribute to the great work done at the service of the whole community."
The neighbourhood patisserie, a very characteristic historical place. Quality is the keyword: the patisserie’s showcase is rich and very inviting. And among croissants, pastries, cakes and sweets of all kinds, the choice is difficult.
Together with the Urban District of Commerce we met Mario Camponuovo, historical owner and this is his story:
"Mario Camponuovo is an elegant, determined and very organised man. We meet him for a coffee in the historic Pasticceria Camponuovo in Borgo Santa Caterina (now run by La Marianna).
He arrives at our appointment carrying a folder under his arm in which he accurately placed all the paper material of the many initiatives created over the years by the neighbourhood’s shopkeepers.
We settle in the recently renovated premises, where, however, the oven that has been used by he and his father for many years has been left in plain sight. A memory, but also a good omen for the future.
However, he does not tell us much about the patisserie that bears his name - the one opened by his father at the end of the forties. He is more interested in talking about 'his' neighbourhood, where he grew up and worked for a lifetime.
Mario was nine years old when he made deliveries for his father, using a van without a license plate and, often, "starting a police chase" behind his unlikely breakaways.
He was amused, especially when the police reported the matter to his father, who replied: “I know who he is! He was a worker of mine, but I kicked him out.”
Mr Giovanni Camponuovo, his father, was known to have been a quick witted and intelligent man. He is said to have built his first oven from the crumpled sheet of an aeroplane that had crashed from the Fara during wartime.
"It was perfect - adds Mario – it baked fantastically!".
The post-war years were years of great vitality. The Borgo d'Oro welcomed merchants to the city for their business and offered as many as six taverns. There was also the Albergo dell'Angelo which was often frequented by personalities from the entertainment industry (among others, he says, there were Tognazzi and Celentano).
The shopkeepers had a willingness to work together to offer, to those who passed through this transit route, the best reception and the best products.
The Pasticceria Camponuovo was one of the promoters of the first association that brought together the city’s pastry chefs. The project had the courageous ambition to raise the quality of everyone's products, starting with the choice of raw materials and processing. There was training and everyone was able to work well.
Mario has a solid memory and very clear ideas: he does not use the word 'traders', but rather 'shopkeepers'. The latter are distinguished, in his opinion, because they do their job “by loving the place where they are and taking care of it personally. They are those who know their rights and their duties and who first commit themselves to sweeping the road in front of their business, without waiting for someone else to do it”.
Then, with more than a little bit of pride, he adds: “Thirty-five years ago, when we started to form the first group of shopkeepers, we had a clear idea that if we worked to make the neighbourhood more attractive and liveable, we would all benefit”.
So they began, first by buying Christmas lights together and then to organise two important events such as Santa Lucia and Carnival.
The idea was simple. Doing things with love, sharing a little beauty with everyone. People would come, attracted to this and there (as expected by a good marketing idea) they would spend money and do their shopping. The circle closed perfectly.
But there was also something else, the authentic desire to do something good besides one's work.
So they also organised the first fundraisers for social projects or emergencies (as in the case of the 1980 Irpinia earthquake) or sensitisation activities in the neighbourhood schools.
In the nineties, for example, they gave life to the Amico Negozio Project in collaboration with Confesercenti. This was to inform children of the possibility, if they needed, to enter the shops for particular necessities such as calling home, drinking a glass of water or feeling more safe.
It was therefore a matter of informing families and children of the availability of the shops that had joined (signalled by a window sticker designed by the children themselves) to be welcoming places and trusted people to whom they could approach with serenity.
It was a simple idea of good neighbourliness. It recognised the social role, first and foremost, of the shopkeepers, active and present in the area and also, at least in part, guaranteeing the safety and good image of the neighbourhood.
Mario speaks about himself and his life in the neighbourhood without ever distinguishing whether the things he’s done are for work, leisure or volunteer work.
Everything is part of the same story, of the same man, of who has lived his life in fullness, putting knowledge and generosity into circulation.
Then, suddenly, he says goodbye with a big smile and leaves. The Alpini are waiting for him to organise the next community dinner with polenta and cassoeula.
It is no coincidence that the new owners of the premises have generously left the historical sign "Pasticceria Camponuovo". A tribute to the great work done at the service of the whole community."
