What a gorgeous, elegant, art deco image!

 

And it was designed by R. F Quillio in 1928 to advertise, of all the humble things in the world, an Italian cheese.

 

Ah, Italy!  You never fail me.

 

Have you ever had slivers of Bel Paese paired with slices of ripe pear and/or a glass of hearty red wine?  If not, you must!  You owe yourself this essential everyday pleasure.

                     

Bel Paese is a very common product in Italy, a semi-soft cheese made from cow’s milk with a mild, buttery taste. Made in small discs, the cheese matures in six to eight weeks, and finishes with a pale, creamy yellow color.

Bel Paese was created in 1906 by Egidio Galbani in Melzo, a small village near Milan, in the Lombardy region of Italy. Galbani wanted to produce a mild and delicate cheese to sell mainly in Italy, but to compete with the fine French cheeses such as brie.

Once Galbani was satisfied with his final recipe and brought it into production, he named his cheese after a popular 1876 book written by Antonio Stoppani, the well-known Italian geologist and paleontologist.  Stoppani was very important as a popularizer of science. In his most popular work, Il Bel Paese, he presented – by means of 32 didactical/scientific conversations in front of a fireplace – ideas and concepts of the natural sciences, with a language that was accessible to the average 19th-century reader, and particularly deals with geology and the beauties of the Italian landscape.  Coming of age at the same time as the formation of the modern Italian nation, patriotic fever inspired both Stoppani and Galbani.

 

Today Bel Paese the cheese is produced both in Italy and in the USA.  The Italian product is packaged with a map of Italy and an image of Antonio Stoppani on the top.

While the wrapping of the cheese made in the U.S. has a map of the Americas.

There were several good advertising images created to market this simple cheese in Italy, including these

 

 

 

 

But never, I think, has an ad been as successful and gorgeous as the one below.  Let’s have another look!

It melts my heart with its beauty!