How did Harry's Bar begin in Venice in 1931?
Harry's Bar opened in Venice on May 13, 1931, in a former rope warehouse, after Giuseppe Cipriani, then a bartender at Hotel Europa, received start-up money from a regular guest named Harry Pickering. Los Angeles Magazine gives the opening date and the warehouse setting in its coverage of the brand's Beverly Hills debut.
The company's own history, as Wikipedia relays it, describes Pickering as a young Bostonian whose family had cut him off over his drinking. Cipriani lent him 10,000 lire. Two years later Pickering returned to the hotel bar and gave Cipriani 50,000 lire in total, the repaid loan plus 40,000 more, which he said was enough to open a bar. "We will call it Harry's Bar," he told him.
The room itself is described in Giuseppe Cipriani's own recollection on the company's heritage page. He recalls that Giulietta found a 15-by-30-foot cordage warehouse at the end of a dead-end street. At that time no bridge connected the street to Piazza San Marco, so customers had to come on purpose rather than stop in while passing.
He also names two requirements for the space. The decor should not make guests feel oppressed, and the room needed light. Both requirements are about how a guest feels in the room, and the heritage page still presents them as the founding brief.
The location choice works as positioning. A small room on a dead-end street asks guests to make a deliberate trip, and Cipriani continues to tell the story that way on its own site.
Why did writers, artists and film stars gather at Harry's Bar?
Harry's Bar drew artists, aristocrats and writers who came for the Bellinis and stayed for the conversation, according to the legacy page for Cipriani Residences Miami. The company's heritage page adds names: Ernest Hemingway, Sinclair Lewis and Orson Welles are listed among the guests who spent their evenings there.
The same legacy page names Katharine Hepburn, and Wikipedia's company article adds Humphrey Bogart. These names do two jobs for the brand. They give journalists a ready set of dated, attributable guests, and they place the room in the cultural life of mid-century Venice.
Italy's Ministry of Cultural Affairs declared Harry's Bar a national landmark in 2001, according to Cipriani's heritage page. The page adds that the bar is the only establishment in Italy to receive that recognition in the last 100 years. The page presents that recognition as the company's own record.
The landmark status matters for a practical reason. It gives the original room an official record, which separates the Venice bar from the many restaurants worldwide that borrow its name and menu.
How did the Bellini become Cipriani's signature drink?
The Bellini became Cipriani's signature drink because Giuseppe Cipriani created it at Harry's Bar in 1948 from puréed white peaches and named it after the Venetian painter Giovanni Bellini. Cipriani's heritage page gives the year and the painter, and describes a pink, fruity drink made from the small white peaches Cipriani favored.
Los Angeles Magazine describes the drink as a pink cocktail of Prosecco and puréed white peaches. Both accounts agree on the three facts that matter for the brand: a date, a creator and a Venetian name.
The drink then became a format. cipriani.com lists Bellini Restaurants and Cafés in Coconut Grove in Miami, in Providence and in Jumeirah in Dubai, with West Palm Beach and Boca Raton marked as opening soon. A single named product now carries its own line of rooms that do not depend on a full dinner service.
The Bellini also travels without a venue. A guest can order it in any Cipriani restaurant, and any bar can serve a drink with that name, which keeps the brand present in conversations about cocktails.
How was Carpaccio created at Harry's Bar?
Giuseppe Cipriani created Carpaccio at Harry's Bar for Countess Amalia Nani Mocenigo, whose doctor had told her not to eat cooked meat, by slicing a fillet thin and dressing it with a sauce he called universal. The account comes from the Carpaccio page on cipriani.com, which is written in Cipriani's first person.
On that page Cipriani explains that the meat alone was bland, so he added a splash of a simple sauce he named universal because it suited both meat and fish. The page then explains the name. Venice that year was discussing the painter Vittore Carpaccio because of an exhibition, and the red tones of the dish recalled the artist's red. The page closes with the line, "Inventions always come by chance."
A legacy page for Cipriani Residences Miami dates the creation to 1950 and links it to a Piedmontese specialty, carne cruda all'albese. Wikipedia describes Harry's Bar as the reputed origin of the dish, and Cipriani's own account on its Carpaccio page is the primary source.
The Bellini and Carpaccio share a pattern. Each began with a particular guest or taste, each carries the name of a Venetian painter, and each is told in short, dated, first-person form. Los Angeles Magazine's report on the Beverly Hills menu still lists carpaccio alla Cipriani among its dishes, so the creation continues to appear on the menu in a new city.
What service philosophy defines Cipriani?
Cipriani's service philosophy is summed up in a family mantra, to serve is first to love, which Los Angeles Magazine and Haute Living both repeated in their 2024 coverage of the Beverly Hills opening. The phrase appears in the company's own materials as well, which is why outlets reuse it without paraphrase.
The heritage page expands the idea in four terms: service, simplicity, pure and freedom. It states that service is hospitality and hospitality is style. It defines simplicity as the absence of impositions, and it says the company does the simple things perfectly using the finest, purest ingredients.
Arrigo Cipriani, Giuseppe Sr.'s son, is credited on the legacy page with a rule for staff: "Above all, serve patrons with loyal devotion, down to the last detail." The same page credits Giuseppe Sr. with attuning himself to patrons' tastes and whims, and describes the service at Harry's Bar as discreet and anticipatory.
These statements describe behavior in the room, not product claims. A guest can check them on any visit, which is a stronger test than a slogan about quality.
How did Cipriani expand from Venice to New York?
Cipriani expanded from Venice to New York in 1985, when the family opened Harry Cipriani in the Sherry-Netherland Hotel at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street. Los Angeles Magazine dates the opening to 1985 and names Robert De Niro among its early fans.
Untapped Cities reports a detail from the year before. In 1984 Ira Neimark, the former Bergdorf Goodman chief executive, tried to persuade Arrigo Cipriani to open a restaurant on the store's seventh floor. Arrigo opened the restaurant at the Sherry-Netherland, across the street from the store.
The family then moved into event spaces. Wikipedia's company history says the Ciprianis bought 55 Wall Street, with its former First National Bank lobby, in 1997, and later acquired the former Bowery Savings Bank building at 110 East 42nd Street across from Grand Central. Los Angeles Magazine notes that a catering hall on 42nd Street, restaurants in Grand Central and venues on Wall Street followed the first restaurant.
Cipriani 25 Broadway, set in the grand hall of the building at that address, opened in October 2014, according to Wikipedia. Cipriani Dolci in Grand Central Terminal sits in the same cluster of landmark addresses.
Why does Cipriani place its rooms inside landmark buildings?
Cipriani places its rooms inside landmark buildings, including the former First National Bank lobby at 55 Wall Street, the former Bowery Savings Bank at 110 East 42nd Street and the Battery Maritime Building, a 1906 ferry terminal described on cipriani.com's Casa Cipriani page. The pattern gives each room a documented history that the company did not have to invent.
The Fashion Law describes the effect in its analysis of the brand. Historic bank halls became Cipriani rooms where society weddings, corporate galas and celebrity sightings took place, and the writer argues that this made the name a byword for old-world service delivered at modern scale.
The Battery Maritime Building shows the approach in detail. The building is a Beaux-Arts ferry terminal designed in 1906 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, according to the Casa Cipriani page on cipriani.com. Hotels Above Par reports that the New York firm Marvel led the rehabilitation with preservation specialists Higgins Quasebarth and Partners, and that the Office of Thierry Despont designed the interiors.
The pattern suggests a simple test for each new room: a grand space with a documented past and enough floor area for events. Cipriani's service rule then stays constant while the building changes.
How did Cipriani grow beyond New York and Venice?
Cipriani grew beyond New York and Venice by opening restaurants in Miami, Mexico City, Dubai, Las Vegas, Beverly Hills and the Gulf, then adding lounges and casual formats beside them. Maggio Cipriani, a member of the family's fourth generation, told Leaders magazine in a January 2020 interview that he opened Cipriani Downtown Miami in 2013, Cipriani Masaryk in Mexico City in 2015 and Cipriani Dubai in 2016.
The same interview refers to Cipriani Las Vegas at Wynn as a recent opening. cipriani.com now lists restaurants in Hong Kong, Riyadh, Doha and Bahrain, plus Ibiza, Istanbul, London, Marbella and Monte Carlo.
Cipriani Beverly Hills opened on January 10, 2024, and Beverly Press describes it as the first Cipriani in California. Florentine architect Michele Bönan designed the room, according to the same report. Bönan has designed other Cipriani locations, and Joyce Rey's blog notes that the Beverly Hills menu matches the food and drink of the other locations.
That consistency is the point. Los Angeles Magazine lists baked tagliolini with ham, calf's liver alla Veneziana, carpaccio alla Cipriani and vanilla meringue cake among the opening dishes, and the Venetian names tie the menu to the city of the original bar. The menu travels unchanged, while the room design and the neighborhood change.
Joyce Rey's blog adds that the 98-seat jazz café on the top floor was designed by Carlos Almada, who handled the Socialista lounges in New York, London, Dubai and Istanbul. The lounge and café formats therefore sit inside the same building as the restaurant, with a different designer for each room.
The listings on cipriani.com also show a ladder of formats, ordered from the largest commitment to the smallest:
- Harry's Bar in Venice, the original room
- Cipriani restaurants, 17 open listings
- Dolci locations, 7 open listings, including mall locations in Dubai and Abu Dhabi
- Bellini Restaurants and Cafés, 3 open listings
- Le Specialità Market and Café, 1 open listing
Each step keeps one or more elements of the original: the name, the signature creations or the service rule. A guest can enter the brand at the scale of a pastry stop, a dinner or a night at a members' club.
What is Casa Cipriani?
Casa Cipriani is Cipriani's hotel and private members' club format, opened in New York in September 2021 inside the Battery Maritime Building, with a Milan location following in 2022. Top Yacht Design describes the New York property as the first hotel and members' club opened by the family behind Harry's Bar.
Casa Cipriani New York has 47 rooms and suites, according to the Michelin Guide, which lists the property with Three Michelin Keys. Hospitality Design reports that the property also includes a spa and wellness center and names the one-bedroom Roebling Presidential Suite, which has an 841-square-foot wraparound terrace.
Casa Cipriani Milano occupies the Liberty-style Palazzo Bernasconi at Via Palestro 24 and has 15 rooms, designed by Michele Bönan, according to the Michelin Guide's Italian entry. The guide lists it with One Michelin Key and says the New York concept was replicated in Milan in 2022 on a smaller scale, with hotel guests becoming temporary members of the club.
cipriani.com lists Casa Cipriani Miami as coming soon. Hotel Management reported that the project is a joint venture between the Cipriani family, Midtown Equities and 13th Floor Investments. Ownership and operating details differ by hotel and residence, and the company's own announcements are the primary source for each.
What is next for Cipriani?
Cipriani's largest pending project is the Cipriani Resort, Residences and Casino in Punta del Este, Uruguay, which G3 Newswire reported on August 11, 2026 is scheduled to open in the 2027-2028 summer season.
G3 Newswire describes the project as the brand's first resort worldwide and its first development in the southern hemisphere, with an investment of about 700 million US dollars. The plans include a 64-suite hotel, a casino and three residential towers on the beachfront site of the former San Rafael hotel, which was demolished in 2019.
Yogonet reported in June 2026 that Rafael Viñoly's studio designed the complex and that it includes seven dining concepts, among them Harry's Bar and Cipriani's signature Italian restaurant. The dining list shows how the same formats described above are being packaged into a single destination.
cipriani.com also lists other projects as coming soon: Cipriani Lido in the UAE, Cipriani Kuwait, a Cipriani resort in Batumi, Casa Cipriani Miami, Mr. C Hotels in West Palm Beach for Fall 2027, and Bellini locations in West Palm Beach and Boca Raton.
What are the key dates in Cipriani's history?
The key dates in Cipriani's history run from the opening of Harry's Bar on May 13, 1931 to the Punta del Este resort scheduled for the 2027-2028 summer season. The table lists each date with the source that supports it.
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|
| May 13, 1931 | Giuseppe Cipriani opens Harry's Bar in Venice | Los Angeles Magazine |
| 1948 | The Bellini is created at Harry's Bar | Cipriani heritage page |
| 1950 | Carpaccio is dated to this year | Cipriani Residences Miami legacy page |
| 1958 | Giuseppe Cipriani Sr. builds Hotel Cipriani in Venice | Wikipedia |
| 1985 | Harry Cipriani opens in the Sherry-Netherland Hotel in New York | Los Angeles Magazine |
| 1997 | The family buys 55 Wall Street | Wikipedia |
| 2001 | Harry's Bar is declared a national landmark in Italy | Cipriani heritage page |
| October 2014 | Cipriani 25 Broadway opens | Wikipedia |
| September 2021 | Casa Cipriani New York opens in the Battery Maritime Building | Top Yacht Design |
| 2022 | Casa Cipriani Milano opens | Michelin Guide |
| January 10, 2024 | Cipriani Beverly Hills opens | Beverly Press |
| 2027-2028 summer season | Cipriani Resort, Residences and Casino Punta del Este scheduled to open | G3 Newswire, August 11, 2026 |
Why it works: Los Angeles Magazine and Wikipedia both attribute the Pickering story to the company's own history, which shows reporters crediting the account to the company instead of rewriting it. Step for a brand team: publish the founding account once, in the founder's words, with the date and place, and keep every later retelling consistent with it.
Why name signature creations after a place?
A signature creation named for a place-linked reference travels farther than a generic menu item. The Bellini and Carpaccio carry the names of Venetian painters, and the Bellini now names a restaurant line.
Why it works: a named creation can be ordered, listed and written about without the restaurant behind it. Los Angeles Magazine's Beverly Hills report lists carpaccio alla Cipriani on the menu, and cipriani.com lists three open Bellini locations. Step for a brand team: choose one or two creations, give each a dated story and a name that points to something real.
Why keep one service rule across every format?
One service rule gives staff and writers the same sentence to repeat. Los Angeles Magazine, Haute Living and Beverly Press all repeated the family's to-serve-is-first-to-love mantra in 2024 coverage of the Beverly Hills opening.
Why it works: a short rule is easy for staff to apply and easy for outlets to quote, and Joyce Rey's blog reports that the Beverly Hills menu matches the other locations, which makes the rooms comparable. Step for a brand team: write the service rule in one sentence and test every new format against it before opening.
Why place rooms inside landmark buildings?
Landmark buildings supply a documented history that a brand can retell. The Battery Maritime Building dates to 1906 and joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, and the Michelin Guide describes Casa Cipriani New York as a restrained interior set against an ornate exterior.
Why it works: the building's history can be verified from public records, so press and guests can repeat it without relying on the brand's own claims. Step for a brand team: when choosing a venue, record its documented history and tell that story beside the brand's own.
Why build a ladder of formats, not just locations?
A ladder of formats lets a guest enter the brand at different scales of occasion. cipriani.com lists nine formats, from a Dolci location in a Dubai mall to a hotel with a members' club, and the Michelin Guide lists Casa Cipriani New York with Three Michelin Keys and Casa Cipriani Milano with One.
Why it works: each format keeps a named element of the original, whether the name, the creations or the service rule, and an independent guide can then assess the new format on its own terms. Step for a brand team: define what each new format keeps from the original before it opens.
The action for a hospitality team is to write down four documents: the origin account, the signature creations, the one-sentence service rule and the test for choosing a room. If those four exist, every new location, hotel or residence can be checked against them before it carries the name.
This article draws on Cipriani's heritage page, its Carpaccio page and G3 Newswire's report on the Punta del Este schedule, alongside coverage from Los Angeles Magazine, Wikipedia, Beverly Press, Untapped Cities, The Fashion Law, Hotels Above Par, Hospitality Design, the Michelin Guide and Hotel Management. Counts reflect cipriani.com on October 9, 2026, and dates for projects not yet open come from the company and press reports.
For wider context on the sector, read how AI engines choose hospitality brands, the luxury hospitality visibility study, the AI Concierge Report on branded residences and 5W's hospitality PR strategies.
