Domenico Barbaia (or Barbaja) made his first fortune as the owner of a string of coffee shops in Milan, serving the "Barbajada," a frothy drink of milk, chocolate and coffee that was a precursor to the cappuccino! He then moved on to dealing in munitions during the Napoleonic wars, becoming wealthy enough to take over both the major theaters of Naples, and later managing two theaters in Vienna and La Scala in Milan. Among the works he commissioned were operas by Gaetano Donizetti, Vincenzo Bellini, and Carl Maria von Weber.
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