MARTINI - Martini International Club Plate

This artifact features the Martini International Club logo, with a central Martini “ball and bar”, surrounded by a blue belt.
In 1863, the Martini, Sola and Compagnia - then Martini & Rossi - was founded in Turin (Italy) by Alessandro Martini, Teofilo Sola, and Luigi Rossi. In 1864 production was centralized at Pessione, where it is still active today. Thanks to the recipe created by Luigi Rossi, the Martini Rosso made the company famous all over the world. Asti Martini, ChinaMartini, Bitter, Martini Dry (1898), Martini Bianco (1910) soon followed. Branches and warehouses were opened in the five continents. The award from the International Exhibition of Dublin (1865) was just the beginning of a long series of recognitions for quality.
Martini & Rossi’s attention to the many forms of external communication has been a distinctive feature of the company from its very beginnings. The company’s first foray into sports sponsorship goes back to 1925 with the organization of a “Grand Martini & Rossi Cycling Trophy”. Cycling gripped the attention of Italians in those years, so in 1934 and 1936 the company ran promotional campaigns that followed the Tour of Italy race. In 1958 the Martini International Club was born and for ten years promoted many high-level sporting disciplines from motor sports, offshore racing, winter sports, riding, fencing, golf and tennis. 1968 marks the most famous page in Martini’s long relationship with sport. In that year the Martini Racing Team was set up and would become a major player in motor sport with Formula 1 and international rallying as its main proving grounds.
In 1993 the Martini and Bacardi Groups merged, uniting two companies with remarkably similar traditions, culture and historical development.