The great world of Italian pipes

In the part of Lombardy north of Milan– Como, Cucciago, Varese– is the other center of Italian pipe making and the second hotbed of pipe development during the 1960s and 1970s. Though much of it can be traced to the Castello factory in Cucciago, influence and history of pipe making in this region is more widely distributed and indirect than in Pesaro. Certainly, Carlo Scotti’s Castello deserves the reputation it has for being the first maker of upper-end, high-grade pipes in the region, beginning in 1947. Further, both Luigi Radice and Pepino Ascorti started their careers with Castello in the 1950s. They later (1969) formed Caminetto, which is now run by Roberto Ascorti, son of Pepino. Luigi Radice created the Radice brand in 1980 and parted ways with Pepino. The second piece of the story lies with Brebbia and Savinelli. The Brebbia factory (or rather the factory that later became the Brebbia factory) was founded by Achille Savinelli and Enea Buzzi, originally to supply pipes to the Savinelli shop in Milan. Later (in the early 1950s), Savinelli opened its own factory and the Brebbia name was adopted. Brebbia and Savinelli are different from every other maker mentioned herein in that their culture is that of a factory, not a workshop. Brebbia produces about 40,000 pipes annually, whereas, for comparison, Radice and his two sons produce less than 2000 pipes annually, usually between 1500 and 1800. Brebbia’s focus has always been manufacturing efficiency– being able to bring a great pipe to the market at a reasonable price– over small scale artisanship. The other great pipemaker in northern Italy also started as a factory: Ardor, perhaps somewhat influenced by the success of Castello, moved their production from machine made, mass-produced pipes to meticulously crafted, hand-made pipes during the 1960s under Angelo and Dorelio Rovera.

Indeed, Giancarlo Guidi argues that this is the great difference between the pipe making culture in the Como region versus that in Pesaro. He argues that the Pesaro tradition has always been one of small craftsmen, while the tradition to the north is one of manufacturing. While he is correct in saying that the origins of Ardor, Brebbia, Savinelli and, to a lesser degree, Castello are manufacturing oriented, the hand made pipes coming from the likes of Luigi Radice, Roberto Ascorti (Caminetto) and Dorelio Rovera ( Ardor) suggests that this is certainly not the case today.

This region’s style is certainly not as cohesively definable as that of Pesaro. For example, in the case of Radice, there are considerable elements that are traceable to Castello and Caminetto, but much of the shaping seems to have also been influenced by the Pesaro school. Ardor has a style that is very difficult to trace to another tradition. It is also difficult to quantify, except to say that it is exceptionally inventive and often whimsical. While their pipes are clearly recognizable as Italian, the Roveras have such a style of their own that it is nearly impossible to trace a stylistic lineage. As for Castello and Caminetto, there is a focus on traditional, strong shapes with clean lines. Savinelli and Brebbia are both imbued with a manufacturing mentality that is necessary given the way they make pipes. High-end pipes from both companies (such as Autographs from Savinelli) combine vestiges of this mentality (in terms of simple, well defined, robust forms) with the rigorous focus on hand made perfection espoused by Castello and Caminetto.

Though Italian pipes and pipe making deserve a far more exhaustive analysis than can be provided here, I hoped this served as an interesting introduction into the great world of Italian pipes.