Welcome to PortoNapoleone by Citron Bleu
LE ORIGINI
- 1982 – CITRON BLEU
Gabriella and Pino Romano eager to share their work experiences and their lives together, found in Rapallo, in the district of S. Anna in via Enrico Toti 12, a small company called CITRON BLEU, whose name was chosen together with a group of friends on a rainy autumn day. - CITRON BLEU: The name was meant to represent something unique, personal and therefore the blue color associated with lemon (citron in French) was the allegory of a nascent activity, original in form and choice of products to be offered to a young clientele with limited availability economic.
Costume jewelery, hard stones, ceramics, gadgets, curiosities, and also Pino Romano’s atelier; thus began the commercial activity of CITRON BLEU on 7 December 1982. - Later some companies were chosen and inserted which are now famous and internationally renowned brands such as Nava Design, Breil, Vetta etc.
- 1985 – CITRON BLEU
It was not at all easy to work in the suburbs, but in spite of everything Gabriella and Pino showed courage and dedicated a lot of passion to make “CITRON BLEU” unique and inimitable, slowly establishing itself in the city fabric, becoming the meeting place for young people who wanted to buy new and fresh of singular objects without spending large amounts. - It soon became clear that a more central and more welcoming location had become an urgent need.
- In 1985 CITRON BLEU took over, with an important economic commitment, a wider and more comfortable structure in the center of the city, in via della Vittoria 1, on the side of the mother church, at the bottom of piazza Canessa.
- November 17, 1985 was the date of the inauguration of the new store. ” In the shadow of the bell tower, no one has ever failed ” these are the words of the historian and friend Captain Umberto Ricci.
CITRON BLEU
Year after year the clientele grew and the taste of Gabriella and Pino evolved and always attentive to change and fashions they were ready to insert products and brands of international prestige, some of which had never been proposed in a small town.
They were able to offer, in a single structure, articles of great quality and commercial thickness such as watches, gold and silver jewelery, French ceramics, graphic design by contemporary masters, writing instruments and highly sought-after gift items. All this gave prestige not only to the store but to the entire city, whose demand for quality had grown.
Brands such as:
MONTBLANC, PORSCHE DESIGN, S.T.DUPONT, EBERHARD & C. GUCCI, IWC, LONGINES and many others.
- In 1991 CITRON BLEU took over in Rapallo, a small laboratory which was transformed into a point of sale specialized in the sale of entry-level watches, straps and accessories.
- Thus the small store was inaugurated in the central Galleria Montallegro with the name of “Tender to CITRON BLEU”.
PortoNapoleone
- July 2001
Gabriella and Pino, eager to offer their jewels to a wider and more international clientele, ready to face new challenges and not without sacrifices, inaugurate the second store with the name of PortoNapoleone in the historic district of Corte in Santa Margherita Ligure.
The name was inspired by the history of ” Santa “. Napoleon Bonaparte in 1812 gave that name to the city, with the aim of definitively unifying the districts of San Giacomo di Corte and Pescino which had always been in conflict with each other. - Prestigious brands were on display in the beautiful windows of PortoNapoleone:
GIRARD PERREGAUX, DODO, ROBERTO CAVALLI, PIANEGONDA, MISANI, BAUME&MERCIER, TAGHEUER, ROBERTO COIN, BREITLING and many others, as well as a beautiful collection of VINTAGE jewelry. - With the opening of PortoNapoleone it was decided the definitive closure of the Tender To Citron Bleu in the Montallegro Gallery in Rapallo.
- 2001-2012 – PortoNapoleone
The start of PortoNapoleone‘s business was not easy, far from it. As soon as the activity was inaugurated, in July with the events of the G8 in Genoa but then especially with 11 September 2001 they sealed a terrible year for both trade and tourism. The repercussions were felt for several years. - Gabriella and Pino dedicate even more passion and tenacity, Gabriella was present in the CITRON BLEU shop in Rapallo and Pino in Santa Margherita Ligure. They managed to be appreciated by tourists, inhabitants and customers of the Riviera, who particularly frequented the Riviera in the spring and summer months.
2012 – Irony of fate.
In 2012, while the city of Santa celebrated the two hundred years of the name Porto Napoleon “1812-2012” given to it by Bonaparte, the shop definitively ceased its activity due to the excessive rental requests of the property and with great regret and despite all the attempts made , definitively abandoned the city of Santa Margherita Ligure.
2013 – CITRON BLEU in the historic headquarters in Rapallo in via della Vittoria will remain active and will host, within its structure, a selection of PortoNapoleone jewels.
Gabriella’s management will give a feminine imprint to the choice of products, with particular attention to Italian brands of costume jewelery and fashion accessories.
2014
PortoNapoleone.
The new house of PortoNapoleone, from Sunday 24 May 2014, will become the historic shop in Piazza Cavour 15 in Rapallo, where the “GEMMA” clothing store was located after the war.
In quella struttura si è voluto Si è voluto fondere insieme storie di vita, di passione, e di tanti sacrifici.
2016 – CITRON BLEU
Many years had passed since that 1982, a long way has been done and not always easy.
Many compromises were made, including family ones, and many sacrifices were made.
After more than 30 years, the closure of the shop in via della Vittoria 1 became inevitable and all the commercial activity was transferred to the splendid and very central shop in Piazza Cavour 15 Rapallo.
2017 – PortoNapoleone by CITRON BLEU since 1982
Therefore, starting from 2016 all the commercial activity was concentrated in the PortoNapoleone shop, Piazza Cavour 15.
The historic store in via della Vittoria 1 was definitively closed at the beginning of 2017.
March / May 2020
2020 will be a year of those that will remain in the mind, history books and human consciousness for many generations.
Everything is changing, inevitably, everything will be renewed and will test us with a new model of behavior, new commercial protocols and a new way of proposing.
The COVID-19 epidemic is changing the world and the way people relate.
Will we be able to renew ourselves?
