A short tour on Italian Pipe Making

Ser Jacopo - Gepetto


Italian art, architecture and design has a very rich past, dating from before the 9^th century BC. It has its origins in the Etruscan culture that flourished under the influence of Greece, Phoenicia, Egypt, Assyria and the Middle East.

As far as I can remember, the Italians have been one of the strongest leaders in design and art in the western world. Influencing the French, the English, the Nordic cultures and the Germans. Their design has a strong sense of elegance that dates from the late 1940s.

The Italians took the English shapes; Billiards, Dublins, Bulldogs, and recreated them in interesting ways…Most of them came from Pesaro. Como or Northern Milan. Some of the brands that come to mind would be Brebbia, Radice, Ser Jacopo, Rinaldo, Castello and Ascorti. They all have a streak of the Italian Neoclassic, with considerable conceptual differences and market objectives.

The Pesaro style is mostly neoclassical. Italian pipes are, like their cars, more modern and more chic in their elegance.

The Pesaro school is also associated with Mastro de Paja, Ser Jacopo and Il Ceppo. An open flow of ideas and creativity generally developed during the early years by Giancarlo Guidi (of Mastro de Paja), Georgio Imperatori (of Il Ceppo), spilled into the younger generation in the likes of Bruto Sordiny (of Don Carlos) and Ricardo (from Alantra).

Castello

Carlo Scotti Castello carries the reputation for being the first high end pipe company, having started in 1947. Although not a carver himself, Castello developed his talent for creating beautiful designs into a new direction with Luigi Radice and Pepino Ascorti, both pipe carvers. Luigi and Pepino later created Caminetto, Ascortti, another part of pipe lineage that spilled into Brebbia and Savinelli. The later having a different concept, that of the factory and not the workshop. Brebbia today produces around 40,000 pipes annually, a big difference when compare to Radice and his 2 sons, who produce a maximum of 2000 pieces per year. Brebbia’s objective is manufacturing efficiency– being able to produce a great pipe at an affordable price.

Il Ceppo

Italian pipe makers describe the main difference between pipe making in the Como region (the North) and in Pesaro. In the North, it’s the manufacturing that’s important, and in Pesaro it’s the tradition of the small craftsman that carries weight.

Lastly, there is also the fact that some of the best briar blocks come from Italy. The roots coming from Corsica, France, Italy, Greece and Spain.

Maybe I should have started here, talking about Mimo and his father, cutting briar for Denmark, England, Japan and the US.

So there… a little history about out favorite hobby.

As Jim would say long ashes everyone…. Until next week.

Christina