As early as 1779, Maraschino was advertised in the London newspaper The Morning Post, and in 1804 the factory received the privilege from Emperor Francis II to display the imperial coat of arms.
The Francesco Drioli Distillery was founded in 1759 in Zara (today Zadar, Croatia) by the Venetian merchant Francesco Drioli. He is considered a pioneer of industrial Maraschino production and perfected the distillation technique for Maraska cherries, previously developed by Giuseppe Carceniga.
Under Drioli’s leadership, the distillery gained international recognition. As early as 1779, Maraschino was advertised in the London newspaper The Morning Post, and in 1804 the factory received the privilege from Emperor Francis II to display the imperial coat of arms. The company supplied royal households in Austria, Great Britain, and Italy.
After Drioli’s death in 1808, management passed to his nephew Giuseppe Salghetti-Drioli. Under his guidance, a glass factory was established in Zara to produce handmade bottles for the Maraschino liqueur. These bottles were wrapped in a straw casing (fiasco) to protect them during transport.
In the 19th century, production continued to grow, with the workforce reaching 500 to 600 during peak season. Other Maraschino producers, such as Girolamo Luxardo (1821) and Romano Vlahov (1861), also established themselves in Zara, leading to the formation of the “Industria del Maraschino di Zara.”
After World War II and the transfer of Zara to Yugoslavia, the owners sought refuge in Italy. Vittorio Salghetti-Drioli opened a new distillery in 1946 in Mira near Venice. He passed away in 1974, and production was permanently discontinued in 1980. The brand rights and recipes were transferred to Distillerie Venete Mira S.p.A. (DI.VE.MI.).
Today, the archive of the Salghetti-Drioli family, which includes documents from 1759 to 1943, commemorates the history of the distillery. Part of this archive was recognized and catalogued in 1991 by the Italian Ministry of Culture as “of great historical interest.”
