# Was Leonetto Cappiello Italian or French, and what is the Campari "Spiritello"?

**Both, in sequence: Leonetto Cappiello was born in Livorno in 1875, moved to Paris in 1898 and became a French citizen in 1930. His Campari "Spiritello", a jester-sprite rising from a spiral of orange peel, is a seven-colour lithograph that Campari has used as a brand symbol; Treccani dates his Bitter Campari poster to 1921.**

Treccani also dates his Vermouth Cinzano poster to 1910 and Fernet Branca to 1911. He was known for a single bold figure on a plain background, an idea Dudovich later borrowed. The date of the Spiritello is disputed: the Estorick Collection places it around 1912.

Achille Mauzan, often listed with the Italian masters, was French; he worked at Ricordi from 1912 to 1917.Sources
- [Treccani, Dizionario Biografico: Leonetto Cappiello](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/leonetto-cappiello_(Dizionario-Biografico)/)
- [Campari Art Journal 13](https://www.campari.com/app/uploads/2022/03/THE-ART-JOURNAL-13-min.pdf)
- [Estorick Collection: The Art of Campari](https://www.estorickcollection.com/exhibitions/the-art-of-campari)

Source: WM Arte Gallery, https://www.wmartegallery.com/answers/leonetto-cappiello-campari-spiritello (updated 2026-11-02)