Pasticceria Rovida Signorelli

The Rovida Signorelli pastry shop on piazza Garibaldi 23 is one of the oldest businesses in Alessandria. It was opened in 1886 by Fermo Signorelli in via Umberto 1, name of the current via dei Martiri: a coffee machine appears for the first time in this shop in Alessandria. Fermo lived in the same building, on the upper floor. Later the business moved to via XXIV Maggio, in front of the Military Hospital. The construction of a building forces them to move to Corso Roma. Here he will be forced to transfer again in 1962, as he was evicted because the building was allocated for the Standa supermarket. The choice for the new premises falls on via Caniggia where it remained until 1991, when the business is moved to piazza Garibaldi, where it still stands. As regards the owners, the founder Fermo is succeeded by his daughter Giovanna, married to Angelo Rovida who has a different job. The pastry shop is sold to a certain Camandona who is forced to sell it after a few years. Giovanna re-purchases it, calling it Rovida Signorelli, adding the name Rovida. Management passes to the sisters Luisa Vittoria and Maria Antonietta who are in charge of the pastry shop. Riccardo Rovida, son of Franco, brother of Luisa Vittoria and Maria Antonietta, is the last member of the dynasty to manage the business. The Rovida Signorelli pastry shop follows a century-old tradition of recipes that date to the 19th century, to the great satisfaction of its customers who have been appreciating it for generations. The most traditional sweets include the baci di dama which where historically produced with a pastry shop of Tortona. The historic products of the pastry shop are also enjoyed by young people, showing the ability to continue to win over one generation after the other. With the move to piazza Garibaldi, it has also returned to being a cafè, as it was in the beginning. In 2018 a second premises is opened in Piazza della Libertà on the corner with via dei Martiri: a highly favorable position in this case too. The premises is set out differently with a service which also includes the ice cream parlor and less connected to the tradition of the traditional pastry shop of Piazza Garibaldi.