Maurizio Gozzelino, the originator of the legendary Crodino, the "blonde non-alcoholic" that became an icon of the Italian aperitif, died at the age of 91. The Piero Ginocchi Study Center in Crodo, the town in Verbano-Cusio-Ossola that gave the drink its name and the birthplace of the ancient recipe based on aromatic herbs, announced his death. Gozzelino was born in Saluzzo in 1935 and relocated to the Antigorio Valley for work in the early 1960s. Working alongside Piero Ginocchi, he created the flavor combination that would result in the birth of Crodino. Official production began on July 28, 1965, following a lengthy testing period in which the product changed names numerous times: initially Picador, then Biondino, before settling on the diminutive Crodo. The Study Center recalled him as "a reliable, generous, and cultured person, capable of communicating simply without ever being excessive". Gozzelino was granted honorary citizenship of Crodo in 2021, as a token of appreciation for his contributions to the modest Piedmontese town's global fame. The story of Crodino is deeply linked with that of the Crodo thermal baths. After WWII, entrepreneur Piero Ginocchi relocated the mineral water bottling business there from Milan, where it had been destroyed by bombings in 1943. Chinotto, Crodo Cola, and tamarindo were among the products introduced during this time, but a fresh commercial concept was required. That vision came from Gozzelino. The brand changed hands several times over the years before being acquired by the Campari Group in 1995. Production was transferred from Crodo to Novi Ligure at the end of 2023, symbolically marking the end of an era. However, the product's historical worth and the memory of the man who transformed a little alpine experiment into an Italian aperitif icon are maintained.