Birra Peroni

Francesco Peroni founded the business at Vigevano in Lombardy in 1846 and opened a second brewery in Rome in 1864, run from 1867 by his son Giovanni. Peroni bought regional brewers through the 20th century and by 1950 was Italy’s largest brewer. Nastro Azzurro, launched in 1963, takes its name from the Blue Riband the liner Rex won in 1933. SABMiller bought the group in 2003-2005, and in 2016 AB InBev sold it to Asahi to satisfy EU regulators during its SABMiller takeover. Peroni brews in Rome, Bari and Padua, where most of the beer is for export, and in 2025 held 17.8% of the Italian market.