‘Journey into the world of Nutella’ at the MaXXi in Rome

A ‘very sweet’ exhibition that will open tomorrow, 20 December, at the MaXXi in Rome to celebrate 60 years of Nutella. The exhibition, curated by Chiara Bertini, in collaboration with Ferrero, entitled ‘joyn! A journey into the world of Nutella’, retraces the six decades of life of the well-known spreadable cream, offering a mix of play and study in a space for adults and children. The imagined path is an opportunity to rediscover the memories linked to Nutella, immerse yourself in its best-known advertising campaigns and visualize the social impact of an icon that has spanned entire generations.

It is “an interactive experience that speaks to all generations and makes visitors protagonists of an immersive journey”, comments Emanuela Bruni, regent councilor of the MaXXI Foundation. “We are deeply honored that a cultural icon and a temple of contemporary art like the MaXXi – comments Fabrizio Gavelli, CEO of Ferrero Commerciale Italia – reserves a museum space dedicated to Nutella on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of its creation. This exhibition arrives at end of a historic year for Nutella, entirely dedicated to Nutella Lovers, our consumers. In fact, 2024 saw the launch of successful innovations on the market, welcomed as always great enthusiasm, such as Nutella Gelato and Nutella Plant-Based, but also Nutella Muffins, Nutella Croissant and the latest addition, Nutella Donut”.

“Celebrating Nutella is not only a tribute to an iconic product – he continues – but also a journey into the roots of a history of family entrepreneurship, attention to communities, ingenuity, resilience and constant innovation. We therefore thank the MaXXi Foundation which, through this exhibition, it was able to conceive a path that offers the public an experience capable of enhancing creativity, design and cultural identity, linked to a product that has been able to conquer the world”.

“This project – underlines Chiara Bertini, MaXXi curator – was born from a stimulating research work on a vast archive. To tell the story of an icon with which everyone associates memories, we decided to highlight the public by inviting them to poetic surprises during the opening and to take some shared time to leave a creative trace in the ‘Nutella world’ to celebrate its 60 years”. The exhibition itinerary opens with the graphic representation of the place where it all began, even before the Sixties, in the pastry shop that saw the birth of the timeless Nutella. Through a detailed timeline, which accompanies the visitor along the exhibition itinerary, its history is retraced, highlighting some salient moments of the Ferrero company, a journey that begins in 1923, when Pietro Ferrero opened his first pastry shop in Dogliani (Cn), at just 25 years old. The first experiments with the recipe began in the 1940s, still far from the cream we know today and then called Pasta Gianduja. 1964 will then be the official year of the birth of Nutella, with the sale of the first jar. The exhibition displays the various editions of the iconic jars that have followed one another over time, and then gives space to curiosities including quotes, films, theatrical performances, exhibitions, design objects up to the presence of Nutella on new media which favor its diffusion in the whole world.

The journey into the Nutella world is created with illustrations by Francesca Gastone, of which at the center of the exhibition you can find a large wallpaper dedicated to the ‘brandlovers’ of all time. There is no shortage of surprises with the Machine à tartiner sculpture, the machine designed by Henri Gallot-Lavallée, which spreads Nutella with precision, to “achieve a single objective: the creation of the most beautiful canapé you could dream of”. We reach the heart of the exhibition, in the central space, where the visitor is invited to immerse himself in a unique sensorial experience: the aroma of Nutella that envelops the environment, recalling the experience in the factory. The exhibition itinerary also offers a moment of involvement thanks to the presence of the NU-TELL-A STORY box and the interactive wall, on which visitors can leave their mark, carving a personal memory.

The Education Office also offers a series of workshops for families with girls and boys aged 6 to 11. After a fun journey through the exhibition to discover the objects created around the legendary spreadable cream, adults and children will design their own incredible object, such as a spoon to taste raindrops or a jar to preserve happy moments. Appointment at 4.30 pm on January 6th, February 9th, March 2nd, April 20th (info on maxxi.art).