L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2026 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano T he Italian compa- ny Invicta is so closely associated with school back- packs that many people assume it was always its business. In reality, the company spent decades mak- i n g t e c h n i c a l o u t d o o r equipment before becoming one of the most recognizable names in Italian school cul- ture. The brand's origins date back to 1906, and it was ini- tially founded in England, but production and develop- ment soon moved to Turin, where Invicta became part of the industrial landscape of n o r t h e r n I t a l y d u r i n g t h e twentieth century. Turin was chosen because it already had a strong manufacturing tradi- tion linked to mechanics, tex- tiles, and technical produc- tion, while the surrounding Alpine environment naturally encouraged demand for out- door and mountaineering equipment. For much of its early histo- ry, Invicta focused on practi- cal products connected to hik- ing and sport, which is easy to notice when leafing through its catalogs from the mid- twentieth century: backpacks, rucksacks, duffel bags, moun- taineering accessories, and technical gear designed for heavy use were the company's best products. hese were the years just after the end of World War II, when moun- t a i n t o u r i s m a n d A l p i n e sports were expanding signifi- cantly in Italy, and durable o u t d o o r e q u i p m e n t w a s b e c o m i n g i n c r e a s i n g l y important for a country redis- covering travel, leisure, and outdoor activities after the hardships of the war years. The company built a repu- tation around resistant mate- rials and functional design, and long before backpacks became lifestyle accessories, Invicta products were mar- keted through ideas of dura- bility and performance, a t e c h n i c a l i d e n t i t y t h a t r e m a i n e d c e n t r a l t o t h e b r a n d . O n e o f t h e m o s t important turning points c a m e d u r i n g t h e 1 9 7 0 s , when students had more text- books and notebooks to carry every day, and traditional leather satchels were gradual- ly becoming less practical for modern urban life. Invicta's s o f t t e c h n i c a l b a c k p a c k s offered lighter materials, l a r g e r s t o r a g e c a p a c i t y , a d j u s t a b l e s t r a p s , a n d a design derived from hiking e q u i p m e n t , w h i c h m a d e them durable and comfort- able. The company, so, began adapting outdoor products for students. By the early 1980s, Invic- ta backpacks had become a visible presence in schools across Italy, especially the Jolly, which is still remem- bered for its rounded shape and bright color combina- tions. Other popular models f o l l o w e d , o f t e n f e a t u r i n g vivid blues, reds, greens, and f l u o r e s c e n t d e t a i l s t h a t matched the aesthetics of the period. Invicta also had a place in wider Italian youth culture, which was changing rapidly and began embracing more international models. The 1980s saw the rise of the paninari, an urban subcul- ture centered around Ameri- can-inspired casual clothing, visible logos, sneakers, and sportswear brands. Invicta backpacks fit naturally into that environment. T h e b a c k p a c k s q u i c k l y became part of everyday Ital- ian school life, and you could see them everywhere, from Milan to Bologna, from Turin to Rome. On buses, trains, and outside schools, they w e r e t h e m o s t c o m m o n accessory of Italian teens in the 1980s and 1990s. Some students customized them with patches, pins, or writing, while others preferred partic- ular colors or limited editions – certain models became sta- t u s s y m b o l s f o r y o u n g e r teenagers, especially during t h e p e a k y e a r s o f v i s i b l e sportswear branding. I n v i c t a a l s o e x p a n d e d beyond backpacks into pencil cases, travel bags, accessories, a n d s c h o o l p r o d u c t s , strengthening its position in the Italian market. Advertis- i n g i n c r e a s i n g l y t a r g e t e d younger consumers, though t h e c o m p a n y c o n t i n u e d emphasizing the resistance and functionality of its prod- ucts, characteristics inherited from its past as an outdoor equipment producer. Invicta eventually became p a r t o f t h e T u r i n - b a s e d Seven Group, which still m a n a g e s t h e b r a n d t o d a y alongside other school-relat- ed labels. W ell… Italy d i d n o t i n v e n t r e c i p e b o o k s from scratch: we know well that collections of recipes already existed in the ancient world, including the one by Apicius, one of the oldest sur- viving culinary texts in West- ern history. Compiled some- time between Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages, the text gathered recipes, c o o k i n g t e c h n i q u e s , a n d notes on ingredients used in élite Roman cuisine. Medieval Arabic culinary manuscripts and other Euro- pean collections would follow as well. Yet, many food historians argue that Renaissance Italy played a decisive role in cre- ating something much closer to the modern cookbook as we know it today. And they are right. he key figure here is Mae- stro Martino da Como, a fifteenth-century cook often described as the first celebrity chef of the Western world. Around the 1460s, Martino w r o t e t h e L i b r o d e A r t e Coquinaria ("Book of the Art of Cooking"), a text that dif- fered significantly from many earlier recipe collections. I n s t e a d o f s i m p l y l i s t i n g i n g r e d i e n t s o r d e s c r i b i n g elaborate banquets, Martino organized recipes clearly, e x p l a i n e d c o o k i n g t e c h - niques, included preparation details, and sometimes even specified cooking times. The result was a practical and readable guide for people a c t u a l l y w o r k i n g i n t h e kitchen. Martino also wrote in the vernacular rather than only in Latin, making the book more accessible. His recipes included dishes such as ver- micelli, Sicilian macaroni, r o a s t e d m e a t s , v e g e t a b l e preparations, and sauces, r e f l e c t i n g a c u i s i n e t h a t already feels very recogniz- able. He is also considered modern by many historians because he moved away from the extremely heavy use of spices common in medieval cooking and placed greater e m p h a s i s o n i n g r e d i e n t s themselves. The story becomes even more important with Bar- tolomeo Platina, a Renais- sance humanist who incorpo- r a t e d m a n y o f M a r t i n o ' s recipes into De Honesta Voluptate et Valetudine, first printed in the 1470s. Thanks to the newly invented printing press, the work cir- culated widely across Europe and became one of the first printed cookbooks in history. S o w h i l e I t a l y d i d n o t invent recipes or culinary writing, Renaissance Italy helped shape the cookbook into a structured, practical, and widely distributed form: something very close to the cookbooks still sitting in our kitchens today. Early Italian cookbooks combined recipes with practical instructions and household advice, helping define the modern idea of culinary writing (Photo: Feri Ferdinan/ Dreamstime) D i d I t a l y i n v e n t t h e m o d e r n cookbook? From the Alps to Italian classrooms: the story of Invicta Nothing is more iconic than Invicta's 1980s classic, the Jolly backpack IMPRESA ITALIA MADE IN ITALY TOP BRANDS BUSINESS & ECONOMY

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