The nougat was born in Cremona in 1441, on the occasion of the wedding between Francesco Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti. Since then, the dessert becomes a must in the city and in the 19th century in Cremona many drugstores produce it by hand.

Right in a grocery located in Porta Venezia, Secondo Vergani was working as a young boy – in a few years he would mark the history of the nougat, and in a certain sense of the Cremonese society too.
In 1881, in fact, Secondo bought the shop, carrying on the production of nougat, that he consolidated from the Twenties of the 20th century, getting the international markets in the early Thirties. From 1969, then, the Vergani is transformed into a limited company and in 1980 opens the new more modern plant.
The first establishment, however, was located in the building located in Piazza San Michele, right next to the church. It is an austere building wiht a big door that opens onto an internal courtyard. Right there the vehicles transporting honey were parked: a huge pipe was housed in a still visible trapdoor and honey dumped in stone tanks, to be worked.
From the courtyard you can still see the ancient chimney, and at the bottom, on the right, the rooms where the cold rooms were located.
The company, which produced a nougat of refined quality, played a particularly important social role in Cremona at the end of the 19yh century: it was the first to admit women as workers in their workforce.
The Bellini-Vergani family, who still resides there, on special occasions opens the home to visitors to admire relics and rooms, where it is also possible to stay.
For more information:

Infopoint Cremona
Tel: 0372.407081
email: info.turismo@comune.cremona.it

Casa Vergani: 342.9216211