Tiramisu Origin: Treviso, Friuli and an Open Question
Posted on October 24 2026
Nobody can say for certain where tiramisu was invented. The best-known claim belongs to Le Beccherie, a restaurant in Treviso in the Veneto, around 1969 to 1972; the neighbouring region of Friuli Venezia Giulia argues for earlier versions, and in 2017 it won an official listing as one of its traditional products.
What is not in doubt is that tiramisu is a young dessert by Italian standards. It does not appear in cookbooks before the 1960s. Here is how each side tells the story, and where the evidence is thin.
What the name means
Tiramisu comes from the Italian tirami su, usually translated as "pick me up" or "cheer me up". Some writers say the phrase comes from the dialect of Treviso, though that is part of the dispute too.
The Treviso claim
The Veneto story centres on Le Beccherie, a restaurant in Treviso run by Ado Campeol. Obituaries for Campeol, who died in 2021, say tiramisu was created there on 24 December 1969. They credit his wife, Alba di Pillo, and the pastry chef Roberto Linguanotto. The restaurant itself has credited Linguanotto as the creator.
The dessert was on Le Beccherie's menu by 1972, which is why Treviso is so often named as its home. An Italian newspaper report from 2013 describes the same version of events: Linguanotto serving the dessert in the 1970s with Campeol's approval.
Not every Treviso account agrees. One alternative says Campeol adapted an earlier dessert served in a goblet, created by another local cook in the early 1960s.
The Friuli claim
Friuli Venezia Giulia points to Tolmezzo, an Alpine town where Norma Pielli ran the Hotel Restaurant Roma. The region says Pielli recorded the recipe in 1959 and served it to hikers at her inn, a decade before the date given in Treviso. In 2013, when the dispute flared up in the Italian press, Pielli was still alive and her claim dated the dessert to the 1950s.
There is a second Friulian thread. A restaurant called Vetturino in Pieris is said to have served a semi-frozen dessert called tiremesù from 1938. That claim is poorly documented, but it has led some writers to suggest the name may be older than the dessert as we know it.
On 29 July 2017, Italy's Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies listed tiramisu among the traditional agri-food products of Friuli Venezia Giulia. Some saw that as settling the matter, but it did not end the argument between the two regions.
The Veneto response
The Veneto had already moved to protect its version. In 2013 Luca Zaia, then President of the Veneto, sought European protected status for tiramisu, based on the ingredients used around 1970. Part of the aim was to stop variations, such as strawberry tiramisu, carrying the name. The dispute between the two regions remains open.
Legends and older theories
Like many famous dishes, tiramisu has collected stories that are hard or impossible to check:
- One legend says a 19th-century brothel keeper in Treviso invented it to revive her clients, and that the recipe went unrecorded for that reason. There is no evidence for this.
- Another claim dates it to Siena in the late 17th century, made for Grand Duke Cosimo III.
- Some link it to sbatudin, a simple mix of egg yolk and sugar, and others suggest the recipe grew out of zuppa inglese, an older Italian dessert.
Treat these as stories rather than history. The written trail starts much later.
What the written record shows
The paper evidence points firmly to the second half of the 20th century. Tiramisu is absent from cookbooks before the 1960s and from encyclopedias of the 1970s. A restaurant column in an Australian newspaper mentions it in 1978. It first appears in an Italian dictionary in 1980, in English in 1982, and in a cookbook of Veneto cooking in 1983.
The classic ingredients
Whichever region you side with, the classic recipe is the same short list: savoiardi (ladyfinger biscuits), coffee, egg yolks, sugar, mascarpone and cocoa powder.
At Bigoli
Our Tiramisu keeps to that familiar shape: espresso-soaked ladyfingers layered with mascarpone and dusted with cocoa. It is lightly sweet, and the coffee is allowed to stay bitter. It is a natural way to finish a bowl of pasta made on site that morning.
We are at 123 City Road, by the Old Street roundabout, about a minute's walk from Old Street station. You can eat in, take away, or order through Deliveroo and Uber Eats. If you have an allergy, please tell us before you order.
Frequently asked questions
Where was tiramisu invented?
It is disputed. Treviso in the Veneto is the best-known claim, from around 1969 to 1972, while Friuli Venezia Giulia points to Tolmezzo in the 1950s and an official 2017 listing.
What does tiramisu mean?
It comes from the Italian tirami su, meaning "pick me up" or "cheer me up".
How old is tiramisu?
The documented history begins in the mid-20th century. It does not appear in cookbooks before the 1960s, and older origin stories are unproven.
What is in a classic tiramisu?
Savoiardi biscuits, coffee, egg yolks, sugar, mascarpone and cocoa powder.