Italy on Wednesday marked International Cappuccino Day with a raft of events dedicated to the iconic coffee and milk beverage, Azernews reports, citing ANSA.

Cappuccinos were drunk at special ceremonies around the country and the drink was also celebrated on social media.

According to one tradition, the cappuccino was invented by a Capuchin friar, Marco d'Aviano, on a September 1683 mission to Vienna for Pope Innocent XI, to convinced countries to ally against the Ottoman Turks.

He is believed to be the first to 'soften' the bitter taste of espresso with milk in a coffee house in the Austrian capital.

Another tradition says it was the Viennese themselves who invented the drink, and named it cappuccino because of its resemblance to the colour of the friars' capes.