Campeol was the owner of Le Beccherie restaurant in the city of Treviso that began first offering the concoction of coffee-soaked biscuits and mascarpone in the 1970s.

The dessert, which first came about because of a mistake by Campeol’s wife and his chef at the time according to local media reports, quickly took off and is today considered a staple of Italian cuisine beloved by those with a sweet tooth the world over.

“With Ado Campeol, gone today at age 93, Treviso loses another one of its gastronomical stars,” Luco Zaia, the governor of the Veneto region, wrote on his Facebook page on Saturday.

“It is at his restaurant, thanks to intuition and the imagination of his wife, that was born the tiramisu, one of the most celebrated desserts in the world.”

Classic tiramisu is made by layering espresso-soaked biscuits with mascarpone and topped off with powdered cocoa.

Today the dessert comes in a myriad of varieties, from fruit to peanut butter.