Market Place
Italian Luigi Pelosi (1868-1946) had an ice cream shop in Market Place, next to the town hall.
There were around 20,000 Italians in the UK, having migrated mainly in search of economic opportunities. Many were involved in the food sector, particularly in the wholesale and retail supply of ice cream and confectionery.
Ice cream was initially a luxury item for the wealthy. Commercial refrigeration from the late 1800s made it much more widely available and many Italian families helped to promote it, with distinct flavours and products, including gelato (more dense with less cream than ice cream), sold from shops and carts.
Luigi Pelosi (sometimes Palosi: see his cart above) left Italy in the late 1800s, following some of his relatives to Glasgow and, like them, joined the ice cream trade.
In 1901, he married Philomina di Marco (1858-?) whose deceased husband had been in the same trade. They had son Adolfo (‘Alfie’) (1903-1970).
After a couple of attempts to move to the USA, prevented by Luigi’s ill health, the family settled in Langholm in 1915. They were introduced to the town by the Crolla family which came from similar origins in Italy and had four family members in Langholm at the time of the 1911 census.
On 4th July 1915, private Thomas Elliot, 1st/5th KOSB, son of fair crier Christopher ‘Kirst’ Elliot, wrote from the Dardanelles:
It is rather warm weather here, and I only wish Palosi were here about mid-day.
E&L, 21 Jul 1915
From 6th January 1917, to reduce national sugar consumption, sweets, chocolate, other sugar confectionery and ice cream could no longer be sold for consumption on the premises in theatres, ice cream shops and other specified types of venue in Scotland. Take-away sales were still permitted.
By mid-1917, Luigi was unable to obtain enough sugar for his traditional recipe and placed the following advert:
Around the same time, Luigi was convicted in Dumfries Sheriff Court of keeping his shop open after 8 pm on 4th June 1917 and was fined £1 (£90 today) with the option of 10 days’ imprisonment. This was part of the implementation of an early closing order on shops to try to conserve resources.
Luigi’s son Alfie married Virginia Mancini (1903-1954) in 1924. Virginia’s father Domenico Mancini (1873-1958) had good looks and could sit for hours without moving, leading to a career as a renowned artist’s model. The world-famous portrait below probably features Domenico.
In later life, Luigi returned to Italy, remarried at age 74 and had a child with his second wife Angela Rosa Lanni (1906-2000), aged 37.
Pelosi’s is still operating in Langholm today, although primarily as a cafe rather than a ice cream shop. The ice cream business was separated and operates from vans.
The Crolla business is still operating in Lochmaben, run by the fourth generation of the family.
Another early 1900s Italian ice cream business in Scotland was founded by Luca Scappaticcio under the name S. Luca in the Edinburgh area in 1908. It is also still in operation and has the distinction of using a Rolls Royce as one of its ice cream vans.
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