La Pavoni
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Coffee |
| Founded | San Giuliano Milanese, Italy 1905 |
| Founder | Desiderio Pavoni |
| Headquarters | San Giuliano Milanese, Italy |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Espresso machines |
| Parent | Smeg Group |
| Website | www |
La Pavoni is an Italian manufacturer of espresso machines and coffee equipment founded in 1905, best known for their domestic direct-lever models, particularly the Europiccola (1961-) and Professional (1974-).
In 2005, the company's centenary, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) included the 1974 La Pavoni Professional model in its “Architecture and Design: Inaugural Installation” exhibition, along with Peter Schlumbohm’s Chemex coffeemaker.[1][2] The brand has been described as "the queen of espresso machines."[3]
La Pavoni was acquired by Smeg in 2019, and continues to operate as part of the Smeg Group.[4]
History
In 1901, Luigi Bezzera devised and patented several improvements to the earliest recognized form of steam-powered espresso machine, invented by Angelo Moriondo in 1884. The first of Bezzera's patents was submitted on 19 December 1901, titled "Innovations in the machinery to prepare and immediately serve coffee beverage"; it was granted as Patent No. 153/94, 61707 on 5 June 1902.[5] In 1903, that patent was bought by Desiderio Pavoni, who founded the La Pavoni company and began to mass produce the machine industrially, manufacturing one machine daily in a small workshop in Via Parini, Milan. Pavoni's first machine, the Ideale, was based on and similar to Bezzera's Gigante.[6][7]
Europiccola and Professional models
In 1961, the same year that Faema launched the E61, La Pavoni introduced the Europiccola: a compact direct-lever home espresso machine with a 49mm group, a 50mm piston cylinder, and a single 800ml boiler. This first version lacked a sight glass for monitoring the water level inside the boiler, which was added to the 1962 model.[8] The Europiccola was exhibited at that year’s Strasbourg Trade Fair, going on to become the company’s signature and most successful model, estimated to have sold 500,000 machines by 2005.[1]
The company also manufactured Europiccolas that were branded and sold as the first Olympia Cremina home espresso machines. This continued until 1967 when Olympia brought production in-house.[9]
La Pavoni introduced their Professional model in 1974, doubling the capacity of the boiler to 1600ml, equipping it with a pressurestat, and adding a pressure gauge atop the sight glass to allow both the water level and pressure inside the boiler to be monitored at a glance.[1]
Discussing the rise in La Pavoni's popularity, and the Europiccola and Professional designs specifically, cultural historian Nina Börnsen argues in her book on Italian design that,
The rising standard of living in the western world, its pursuit and refinement of the pleasures of life, also led to an interest in attractive household appliances. Italian kitchen appliances became as popular as its cuisine. La Pavoni had a technological and functional appeal but, as a small steam engine, also had a nostalgic charm. One of the most popular espresso machines, it is also a status symbol.[10]
Starting in 1996, La Pavoni briefly produced the Gaggia Factory models G015 and G016 (corresponding to the La Pavoni Europiccola and Professional) noted for their distinctive conical boiler cap, for which they became known as the ‘Tin Man’ machines.[11][12]
From 1997, La Pavoni began introducing more plastic parts into the machines, including a plastic boiler cap and Teflon piston.[13]
"Millennium" versions
In 2001, La Pavoni introduced a number of significant changes to the Europiccola and Professional designs, including a new group, with a slightly larger 51mm group head and a notably larger 60mm diameter piston cylinder, which visibly changed the external proportions of the group head, as well as a Teflon piston sleeve and nylon group head insert. These later models became collectively known as the "Millennium" or "post-millennium" models; all prior Europiccola and Professional machines with the original 49mm group are now generally referred to as "pre-millennium." As a result of these changes, many parts and accessories are incompatible between pre-millennium and post-millennium machines, including portafilters, filter baskets, and tampers.[8][14][15]
In popular culture
James Hoffmann observes that La Pavoni and its Europiccola model in particular "achieved true legendary status in 1973, when it appeared in a James Bond film, but the quality of espresso that Roger Moore brews might make him the worst Bond.’[16] In the scene, Bond dumps milk from a mug into the thin, pale coffee gushing from his Europiccola, then inserts both the steam pipe and the relief valve pipe of the machine into the contents of the cup, briefly gurgling and spilling the liquid before handing the result to an apparently bemused M, who responds, "Is that all it does?"[17]
External links
http://www.francescoceccarelli.eu/index_eng.htm Lever espresso machines by Francesco Ceccarelli
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europiccola_Professional
See also
References
- ^ a b c Elena Locatelli (2005). La Pavoni: Dal 1905 macchine per il caffè (PDF) (in Italian). Milan: Grafiche Moretti. pp. 7, 125, 106, 128, 108. p. 7:
Over this last decade, a renewed interest has developed towards the history of coffee machines, which are viewed as real period pieces; the Pavoni Professional dating back to 1974 is on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, to name but one.
- ^ Dimitrios Tsantidis (2012). Faszination Espressomaschine: Das Geheimnis des Dolce Vita (in German). Franzis Verlag. p. 98.
- ^ Anne Finger (2009). Call Me Ahab: A Short Story Collection. University of Nebraska Press. p. 31:
In Anne Finger's 1995 short story "Vincent," about a elderly, fictionalized Vincent van Gogh living homeless in Regan era midtown Manhattan, a La Pavoni is described as "the queen of espresso machines." (Call Me Ahab 31) The story was first published in Third Coast magazine, Spring 1995. (ibid. xi)
- ^ "Smeg acquires leading Italian espresso machine manufacturer La Pavoni". Smeg. Retrieved 2026-02-14.
- ^ "La storia del cappuccino, che non è solo italiana e ce ne faremo una ragione". vice.com. 21 April 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
- ^ Stamp, Jimmy (19 June 2012). "The Long History of the Espresso Machine". Smithsonian. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
- ^ The Origins: espresso is born , retrieved 21 March 2021.
- ^ a b Francesco Ceccarelli. "La Pavoni - Europiccola". Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ^ James Hoffmann (12 May 2020). "Review: The Olympia Cremina". Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ^ Börnsen, Nina (1994). Italian design. Köln: Taschen. p. 104.
[facing image of La Pavoni Professional]
- ^ Francesco Ceccarelli. "La Pavoni - Gaggia Factory". Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ^ Francesco Ceccarelli. "La Pavoni - Gaggia Factory G106". Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ^ Francesco Ceccarelli. "La Pavoni - Europiccola 1993 (EL)". Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ^ "La Pavoni Comparison: Millennium or Pre-Millennium". Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ^ "La Pavoni Lever Portafilters". Faema. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
...Pavoni lever machines, 49 mm (pre-millennium) or 51 mm (post-millennium).
- ^ James Hoffmann (18 August 2020). "The La Pavoni Europiccola". Retrieved 1 March 2026.
- ^ "LIVE AND LET DIE: "Sheer Magnetism, Darling."". James Bond 007 (Official) & Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. 3 August 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2026.