Legends of lore from southern Italy are deeply intertwined with the historical events of the looming somma-stratovolcano Mount Vesuvius, located on the Gulf of Naples.
BasileADV Studio, based in the Irpinia region of Italy and founded by creative director Andrea Basile, took on a project linked to the history of the volcano. Called Vesuvius Magma Gin from Naples, it was inspired by the last eruption of the volcano on 17 March 1944. For this brand-new product, the naming, concept, packaging and storytelling were all taken on by the studio.
The ingredients used in the gin also have a connection to Mount Vesuvius with botanicals found on the mountain’s slopes, graphically represented with hand drawn illustrations inside the volcano’s silhouettes on the label. The volcano was the geographical symbol that defined the brand, to convey what Basile calls ‘the strength, history, and beauty of a unique land.’
The brand logo was inspired by lettering styles found on Neapolitan signs from the 1940s, specifically the forms that echo the shape of architectural vaults. This gave the logo ‘a sense of historical and local authenticity’.
Using the Cotone range of self-adhesives, Naples-based printer Sovemec helped bring the vision to life, carrying out the entire production and printing process of the labels, which includes a raised UV seal.
There is a unique numbered collar on each bottle of gin highlighting the exclusivity of the limited edition as there were only 1944 bottles produced, the number a nod to the year of the last Vesuvius eruption.
The brand also launched a zero-alcohol version of the gin in 2024 that includes juniper from Salerno and laurel, fennel, broom flowers and rosemary collected from Vesuvius National Park.
