'''Giovanni Rana''' (born 15 October 1937) is an Italian pasta maker and founder of the Giovanni Rana brand of Italian food products including refrigerated pasta, sauces, and ready-made dishes. The brand started in 1962 with homemade [[tortellini]] and has since expanded, distributing products in 38 different countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rana.it/ristoranti/it/vivi-l-esperienza/i-ristoranti|title=I Ristoranti|language=Italian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215131914/http://www.rana.it/ristoranti/it/vivi-l-esperienza/i-ristoranti|archive-date=15 February 2018}}</ref>
==HistoryLife and career==
Giovanni Rana was born in 1937. Giovanni RanaHe joined his brothers at the family bakery in [[San Giovanni Lupatoto]], [[Province of Verona|Verona]], in 1950 and began making tortellini, personally preparing the pasta and the filling. He began producing pasta and made the deliveries door-to-door with his red motorbike.
In 1962 Pastificio Rana officially opened its doors.{{where?}} At the beginning the production, the pasta was strictly handmade. Giovanni Rana himself oversaw its distribution and delivered the tortellini from house to house.
With the assistance of local engineers and mechanics, Giovanni Rana designed and developed new machines to meet the increasing demand for pasta. The machines increased production from about {{convert|33|lb|kg|abbr=in|order=flip}} of tortellini an hour to about {{convert|44000|lb|kg|abbr=in|order=flip}} an hour. In 1971, the factory moved to its current location,[[of San Giovanni Lupatoto]]. Giovanni Rana's son Gian Luca Rana (today's CEO of Giovanni Rana company) joined the company and expanded the brand to other European countries and the US. The first factory in Chicago opened in 2012. In October 2012 the Giovanni Rana pasta company opened its first restaurant in the [[United States]] at the [[Chelsea Market]] complex in the [[Chelsea, Manhattan|Chelsea]] neighborhood of the[[Manhattan]], [[New York City]] borough of [[Manhattan]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/25/giovanni-rana-brings-its-pasta-to-chelsea-market/|last=Fabricant|first=Florence|title=Giovanni Rana Brings Its Pasta to Chelsea Market|date=2012-10-25|access-date=2013-01-24}}</ref> The same year the firm opened a restaurant at [[Regent's Place]] in [[London]], [[England]], which is its first eatery in the [[United Kingdom]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bighospitality.co.uk/Article/2011/08/02/Giovanni-Rana-to-open-restaurant-at-London-s-Regent-s-Place?utm_source=copyright&utm_medium=OnSite&utm_campaign=copyright|last=Eversham|first=Emma|title=Giovanni Rana to open restaurant at London's Regent's Place|date=2011-08-02|access-date=2012-01-25}}</ref>
