I sensi di Romagna - CERDOMUS

Le imponenti macchine a colonna dell’inizio secolo sono in stile Liberty, realizzate in fonderia, venivano arricchite con
decorazioni cromate e scritte smaltate di pregevole fattura. Nella piccola officina di via Parini a Milano, la Pavoni fabbrica
tre modelli: piccolo, medio e grande. E ne vende al ritmo di una al giorno. La torinese Victoria Arduino perfeziona il sistema
del caffè a vapore, ma le Officine Fratelli Romanut, la cui macchina a colonna in cima sfoggia il leone di San Marco
cesellato a mano, sposano il funzionamento elettrico e a gas. Si va verso gli anni Venti, L’Augusta Massocco & C, la Snider,
la Universal, “carrozzerie” cromate per eleganti macchine del caffè a funzionamento elettrico istantaneo. Arrivano gli anni
Trenta, la Victoria Arduino fabbrica un modello la cui immagine nelle linee e nei volumi attinge agli stilemi fascisti. Giuseppe
Cimbali, l’artigiano che fabbrica i componenti delle macchine, negli anni Trenta avvia la produzione in proprio, le Cimbali
sono richiestissime. L’ingegner Simonelli, nel 1936, da Macerata mette sul mercato il suo modello a colonna con meccanica
per preparazione istantanea. Nel secondo dopoguerra, Gaggia con la Classica 1948 sostituisce il modello “a colonna”
con il funzionamento “a pistone”, e la bevanda che prima sapeva d’amaro e di bruciato diventa la moderna “crema caffè”.
Le macchine Gaggia si diffondono rapidamente nei bar e nei ristoranti del Belpaese. Dagli anni Cinquanta entrano in scena
le scelte artistiche, la materia diventa linguaggio a firma di grandi designer e architetti. Si cimentano artisti come Gio Ponti, Luigi
Caccia Dominioni, Bruno Munari, Alberto Rosselli, Antonio Fornaroli, Giuseppe De Gotzen, Marco Zanuso, Rodolfo Bonetto,
i fratelli Castiglioni, Giovanni Travasa, Ettore Sottsass, Enzo Mari, Gianfranco Salvemini, Pininfarina, che hanno realizzato
“strumenti” di lavoro divenuti dei veri e propri elementi di collezionismo che contribuiranno ad imporre l’inconfondibile stile
nazionale nel mondo. Degna di nota la Pavoni Modello Concorso del 1956. Il design di Enzo Mari e Bruno Munari le fa
meritare il soprannome di Diamante. Ancora oggi tra le più ricercate dai ristoratori è la Faema - azienda che, più di tutte, ha
saputo scrivere il futuro delle macchine da caffè - E61, del 1961. Decorata con una banda rossa su fondo bianco, veniva
pubblicizzata come unica al mondo ad iniezione diretta, “dotata a richiesta di idonea apparecchiatura alimentata da una
comune batteria”, così anche senza corrente elettrica il caffè è garantito. Ma nell’archivio del collezionista si possono
trovare testimonianze e curiosità di ogni genere, come i cento anni del costo delle tazzine, la ricostruzione dei tempi tecnici
del caffè - una volta ci volevano tre minuti, oggi quaranta secondi – oltre ad un cortometraggio ottenuto montando in
successione scene tratte da film famosi che hanno per filo conduttore l’apparizione di una macchina del caffè espresso.
I Sensi di Romagna
SILVER LADIES
the Maltoni collection of coffee machines in Forlimpopoli
Italians have been drinking espresso coffee for 108 years, when the first-ever machine
for making it was invented. But espresso machines have never been mere appliances – at
their best they’re works of art whose history and identity are interwoven with those
of the world’s best-loved beverage and the evolution of Italian customs.
For Italians, ordering a coffee is more than a mere transaction – it’s a ritual and a pleasure. So to meet Enrico
Maltoni, who lives and works in Forlimpopoli, is to encounter the accoutrements of the ritual, come face to
face with one’s man’s passion, and discover a whole world dedicated to coffee. It all started twenty years
ago, when our Romagnol collector found a 1952 Faema Marte machine in a market stall and decided to buy it
to use at home. As he looked for parts to restore and repair the machine, Maltoni was struck by the scarcity
of literature on so potentially vast a subject. It was the beginning of a passion that led to the creation of the
Maltoni Collection of coffee machines, the world’s first website dedicated to coffee, a book, Espresso Made
in Italy 1901-1962, a travelling exhibition of espresso machines (the most beautiful and efficient of the 20th
century) and, quite recently, another book, Faema Espresso 1945-2010. The Enrico Maltoni collection is revered
by coffee enthusiasts all over the world, and is now online at www.espressomadeinitaly.com. It’s the world’s
only online museum of coffee machines, and every specimen was made in Italy. Doyens of the collection are
the espresso machines – over 100 gleaming, scintillating creations that their owner calls his “Silver Ladies”.
The collection also features mocha machines, unusual accessories, period posters, coffee cups, a library,
archive, and some wonderful original advertising material. Together, they trace the evolution of the coffee
cult over the course of a whole century. The machines themselves form the backbone of the collection.
Every machine is a triumph of design, a marriage of industry and art, and every machine brilliantly reflects
the evolution of Italian society and customs over the course of the twentieth century. The earliest recorded
patent for a coffee machine dates from November 1901, for a model designed by Luigi Bezzera of Milan. In
1905, also in Milan, Desiderio Pavoni began designing and selling machines for espresso coffee, and his design
too was patented. Pavoni’s machine was of chrome-plated brass, cylindrical in form with a boiler heated by
a gas burner. It operated at a pressure of 1.5 atmospheres – and it burned the coffee! There was plenty room
for improvement then, and during the twentieth century a series of refinements designed to improve flavour
were introduced. The new machines were always designed with an eye on their aesthetic appearance, and
so their evolution reflects changing artistic currents – leaving for posterity some matchless classics of Italian
design. Most of the machines on display were made to be used in bars. The imposing column machines
from the early twentieth century are in the art nouveau style, their cast bodies enriched with chromium
highlights and delicate enamel writing. In its small factory in Milan’s via Parini, Pavoni made three models:
small, medium and large. It generally sold one machine a day. Turin designer Victoria Arduino perfected
the steam-driven espresso machine, while Fratelli Romanut, whose column machine sported a hand-tooled
St. Mark’s Lion on top, combined electric and gas-powered technology. By the 1920s, Augusta Massocco &
C, Snider, and Universal were producing elegant electric machines with chrome-plated “coachwork” that
worked at the flick of a switch. In the thirties, Victoria Arduino produced a model which reflected the fascist
aesthetic of the day. In the same decade, components manufacturer Giuseppe Cimbali began producing his
own machines, and these were soon in great demand. In 1936, Simonelli from Macerata introduced a column
machine incorporating a mechanism for instant preparation. After the Second World War, Gaggia’s Classica
1948 replaced its earlier piston-driven column model, and the drink that had previously tasted bitter and
burnt now became the modern foamy-topped café crème. Gaggia machines rapidly established a place in
bars and restaurants all over Italy. By the fifties, espresso machines had become an art form in their own
right and attracted the attentions of illustrious designers and architects. Creations by the likes of Gio
Ponti, Luigi Caccia Dominioni, Bruno Munari, Alberto Rosselli, Antonio Fornaroli, Giuseppe De Gotzen, Marco
Zanuso, Rodolfo Bonetto, the brothers Castiglioni, Giovanni Travasa, Ettore Sottsass, Enzo Mari, Gianfranco
Salvemini and Pininfarina have since become collector’s items which have contributed to the global diffusion
of a distinctively Italian style. Among these are Pavoni’s Concorso model from 1956, while a curious faceted
machine designed by Enzo Mari and Bruno Munari earned itself the nickname of Diamante. Today, one of the
machines most sought after by bars and restaurants is the Faema E61 from 1961. A landmark and a turning
point in espresso machine design, the E61 sported a distinctive red band on a white background, and was
launched as the only machine in the world with a direct injection system, “equipped to order with a special
system powered by a common battery” – which meant coffee was now possible even when the power failed.
The archives of the Maltoni collection are full of information and curious information, such as the price of a
coffee over a hundred-year period, and an account of the time it takes to make an espresso – three minutes
in the past, now just forty seconds – and there’s also a video installation with a sequence of clips from
famous movies in which coffee machines feature prominently.
[18 19]
Si Si cambia cambia più più facilmente facilmente religione
religione
che caffè. Georges Courteline
Passioni