Famiglia Luxardo

Celebrating over 200 years of Italian distilling heritage, the Luxardo museum has welcomed more than 9,000 visitors since it opened in May 2023.

Luxardo is known today for its maraschino, limoncello, and amaretto liqueurs, sambuca flavours and cocktail cherries. However, the oldest independent family‐owned Italian drinks company has been around since 1821. In celebration of Luxardo’s bicentennial in 2021, Italy’s Chamber of Commerce honoured the family for their legacy and historic achievements.

The producer opened its new museum and visitor centre in 2023 at the Luxardo distillery and headquarters near Padua, northern Italy, where the family relocated in 1947. This year, the museum will welcome trade visitors and consumers to celebrate the culture of Italian distilling free of charge.

Luxardo upholds traditional and modern values in its extensive history of spirit production, extending to the innovative architecture that seamlessly integrates the new 600‐square‐metre museum building with the surrounding Euganean hills.

Studio Architetti Mar of Venice designed and built the museum to reflect Luxardo’s vibrant, bold, naturalistic ethos. The exterior comprises twisted steel strips with extraordinary structural and aesthetic properties, giving it a shimmering, 3D quality. Inside is a circular arrangement of rooms, with digital and video enhancements.

Visitors are immersed on a multi‐sensory journey through Luxardo’s artisan production of ingredients for cocktails and gourmet culinary creations. The history of Luxardo comes to life through archival exhibits, showcasing decorative straw‐wrapped bottles of the renowned Luxardo Maraschino liqueur, pioneering export records, and creative advertising spanning the decades.

“Visitors from all around the world have praised the museum for its well‐curated narrative, which includes the story of the Luxardo family from its founding in 1821 in Zara, through the destruction of the Second World War, to the post‐war rebirth of the company,” says Matteo Luxardo, export manager and sixth generation of the Luxardo family.

“The tour is divided into several sections, each offering a unique perspective on Luxardo’s history and products. These include the history of the factory, the design and communication strategies, and the global expansion of Luxardo products. The museum also highlights the production processes of some of our most famous products, like the Original Maraschino and Sangue Morlacco.”

The museum also offers the opportunity to taste and purchase Luxardo liqueurs, spirits, confectionery products, and vintage bottles of unopened Luxardo Maraschino from the 1950s and 60s. The vintage bottles, sourced worldwide, are sought after by experimental bartenders and spirits collectors.

Matteo shares an update on the new museum’s reception: “Overall, more than 9,000 people have visited the museum since its opening in May 2023, including local schools and happy tourists. It has been wellreceived for providing an insightful and engaging experience, blending historical education with emotional storytelling. It serves as both a testament to the enduring legacy of the Luxardo family and a celebration of the brand’s global impact.”

The family legacy

The museum reflects the emotional and cultural heart of the Luxardo family history. It tells a story of industry, innovation, courage, and achievement. The family faced turbulence and tragedy during the war, which some family members did not survive.

The Luxardo family has researched and faced the memories, which similarly affected many Italians who fled from the war‐torn region to rebuild their lives. Today, the fifth, sixth, and seventh generations of the family continue the legacy, with eight family members still working in production, export, marketing, and management roles.

The heritage museum offers visitors a chance to immerse themselves in the family history with tours hosted by Matteo Luxardo and other family members. The team also travels to more than 100 countries annually to spread the Luxardo culture worldwide. The company’s products are featured at major cocktail events worldwide, from Tales of the Cocktail to Bar Convent Berlin and beyond. Today, Luxardo is a quality brand of choice for bartenders, frequently launching revivals, innovations and limited editions to entice modern consumers. The latest innovations include Sour Cherry gin, aperitivo, Antico, Maraschino Perla Dry Riserva Bicentenario and Bitter Bianco aperitivo.

The brand proudly reflects the best of Italian traditions in Luxardo Espresso coffee liqueur, made through a heated infusion, honouring Italy as the home of espresso coffee.

For its Maraschino products, Luxardo uses a sour cherry variety exclusively cultivated from more than 30,000 Marasca cherry trees in the Torreglian hills. The plants are given to local farmers, and the yield is bought from them at market prices, ensuring a sustainable and ethical supply chain. Preserving the natural agricultural environment and sustainability issues are not just part of the Luxardo’s vision; they are at the core of the firm’s operations.