Today Aperol, Italy's iconic bittersweet orange aperitif celebrated its centenary in Padova and Venice, unveiling a series of activities and collaborations showcasing Aperol's joyful spirit. Reflecting on the brand's rich history since 1919 and turning towards the future, Aperol invited guests from around the world to mark this centenary milestone, sparking joyful connections using the universal languages of art, music and Aperol Spritz. This signature cocktail single-handedly leads the global Spritz category, earning Aperol its rightful place in the International Bartender Association's list (IBA), as the key defining ingredient of the Spritz Veneziano. Launching 'Grazie Veneto' or 'thank you Veneto' this week, Aperol joined forces with three artists - Finnano Fenno (Italy), Dominic Keserton (UK) and Molly Egan (USA) - to unveil three bespoke sofas, courtesy of Kartell, to the public in Central Cavour Square in Padova, the birthplace of the brand. A fourth sofa collaboratively designed between the artists saw its debut at Aperol's 100th birthday celebration on Giudecca, Venice. Each piece of urban art interprets the brand's role in sparking joyful connections, prompting people to sit alongside each other, shedding light on the strong values of sharing in the brand's mantra, 'Together We Joy'. As part of the centenary landmark, Aperol worked with Tito Faraci, a renowned comic book author, and illustrator Sergio Gerasi, to produce a unique graphic novel titled Orange Chronicles, comprised of seven stories set around the world capturing the magic of human connections over the course of a hundred years. Published by Gribaudo, part of the Feltrinelli Publishing Group, this comic-strip style book will be available for purchase from July at the Feltrinelli chain and independent libraries across Italy, online at Amazon and on the Gribaudo website from €16.90 in Italian and English. The festivities culminated in the emblematic St. Mark's Square, the city's most famous space, as the beautiful location hosted a live concert 'Aperol Happy Together Live' blending different types of music for the first time in this historical space in Venice. Artists such as Francesca Michielin, Maneskin, and Max Gazzè were part of the lineup and united a large crowd together to toast to 100 years of Joy with Aperol. Andrea Neri, Managing Director, Italian Icons at Campari Group, commented: "As a brand that is a real Italian Icon, our aim is to bring people together using our universal language – one of joy, connection and spontaneity. The year 2019 is a truly special one and it is an immense pleasure to be working on this launch at such a global scale, having people join us from across the world to celebrate. We see new Aperol fans appear every day and we don't want this to slow down. We're so pleased to see that the Aperol philosophy has found its place across the four corners of the globe!" https://www.aperol.com/ https://www.facebook.com/AperolSpritz/ @aperolspritzofficial #aperol100 #aperolspritz Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/941223/Aperol_100_Birthday_Venice.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/941224/Aperol_100_Birthday_Venice.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/941225/Aperol_The_Orange_Chronicles.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/941226/Aperol_Urban_Art_Padova.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/941227/Aperol_Sergio_Gerasi_and_Tito_Faraci.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/941229/Aperol_Happy_Together_Live.jpg SOURCE: A perol