Museo: MUMAC – Museo della Macchina per Caffè Cimbali Group

Welcome to MUMAC!

In this section, the visitor will have a first overview of the peculiarities of MUMAC in a short visit that, however, does not overlook the fundamental points of the evolution of the coffee machine over time, with some references to technologies, design, and the traditions and customs related to the consumption of the beverage.

Welcome to MUMAC! Here you are in the Hall: you have probably just crossed the threshold of the museum, after accessing the reception, maybe you have already enjoyed a great coffee in the cafeteria you find on the left as you enter, and now you are about to start your visit. Before entering the exhibition rooms, take a moment and stop here, at the entrance, to begin to savor the history, curiosities, and details of this place. This museum was born in 2012, inside the headquarters of Gruppo Cìmbali, here in Binasco. It was created on the occasion of the centenary of the founding of the company, which took place in 1912 by Giuseppe Cìmbali in Milan, and it is the largest permanent exhibition dedicated to the history, world, and culture of professional espresso coffee machines. It is a corporate museum that goes beyond the concept of a business museum: inside, it exhibits not only the machines of the Group's brands (La Cìmbali, Faema, Casadio, Slayer), but all the brands that have been milestones in the industry. Thanks to the collections of the Cìmbali family and Enrico Maltoni, the world's largest collector of coffee machines, the museum exhibits over 100 machines and tells more than a century of the evolution of an entire sector of Made in Italy, not only from a technological point of view, but also in terms of product design, style, and customs related to coffee consumption. There are also 250 machines not on display but available for other activities and projects that we will tell you about later. Before the museum, here, there was the company's spare parts warehouse, which was transformed into what you can see, thanks to a project entrusted to architect Paolo Balzanelli and engineer Valerio Cometti, who took care of all aspects, from defining the place to designing the spaces, from the set-up to the furnishings. According to the changing spirit of the times and the exhibition and use needs, some subsequent restylings (handled at different times by the Traverso-Vighi studio and designers Antonella Andriani and Ambrogio Rossari) have transformed spaces and uses, making it what you can see today: an unexpected, engaging, and unique place.

The exteriors

This section focuses on the exterior of the Museum, also a work of art amidst futuristic structures and colorful murals.

A bit of patience and let's start the journey through the rooms! Perhaps you haven't noticed, but your visit has already begun even before entering! That's right: we can say that the discovery of MUMAC does not begin inside the building that houses the collections, but outside of it. Even before reaching the entrance, you will have noticed the mural that surrounds the museum. It is a mural that welcomes the visitor, telling a story. Four hundred square meters of colorful images depict the entire coffee supply chain, starting from the plantation, until the coffee is served in a cup. A supply chain where the coffee machine is responsible for extracting the best from the raw material, giving value to those 2000 hands, through which it reaches us. The philosophy of hospitality, attention to the territory, and the desire to spread culture have allowed the realization of a project that combines artistic expressiveness with respect for urban decorum, promoting collaboration between private, public, and young artists of the city. The artwork, which has become a treasure for everyone, shows the potential that culture can have in revitalizing and beautifying the territory that hosts it. The mural is an invitation to the public to enter and discover the museum and its history: if you haven't seen it well, approach the panel in front of the reception to discover its details. From the outside, once you have crossed the gate, you found yourself in front of the red building that houses the museum: an architectural project that leaves no detail aside, making MUMAC one of the most interesting examples of contemporary museum architecture. The central body of the museum, the original building that housed a spare parts warehouse, is embraced by red metal slats with curved lines that recall the waves of coffee aroma rising from the cup. The reinterpretation of the warmth emanating from the coffee machine is visible at night when artificial light filters through the slats, creating a luminous grid. You will surely have noticed a huge white cup that stands out in front of the red slats, inviting you from the entrance to interact with the museum, for a very... "social" photo! If you haven't already, remember to take a souvenir photo of your visit and share it with us using the tag @mumacmuseo.

Dawn Room

This section marks the beginning of the internal museum tour with the beautiful Albori Room.

Well: now, finally, you can cross the threshold of the museum rooms! Proceed to the left of the brown dividing panel on which the museum map is represented: but first, if you want to orient yourselves, take a look at it! To the left, a large "Welcome" tells you about the philosophy of MUMAC (if you'd like to read or listen to it, go to the introductory itinerary). Stop right at the entrance of the first room: we are in the Origins Room, where Espresso is born. With your back to the brown wall, you find yourselves in Italy between the late 1800s and the first two decades of the 1900s. The photos on the walls, the large counter, the machines, the advertising images tell us that we are in a moment of great fervor and innovation. The industrial revolution, the steam machine, the train are shortening the distances towards novelties and the future. To the left, you see the first piece to focus your attention on: the Moriondo patent. In reality, it is a faithful reproduction based on the original patent of the machine, mentioned in 1884 by the "Gazzetta Piemontese" (which will later become "La Stampa" of Turin), announcing the birth of a "beautiful coffee machine." It is the invention of the Turin native Angelo Moriondo, who, although still far from the development of the first espresso machines, has the merit of offering a quality drink to an increasing number of enthusiasts. For the first time, the drink is produced using steam: the extraction no longer occurs through percolation or infusion, but still in large quantities, collected in a special container that the machine is equipped with. The coffee is not yet prepared "cup by cup," but rather "instantly." Two of these patented machines, never commercialized, were displayed at the Gran Caffè Ligure of the Moriondo family for the public service of instant coffee, as defined by Moriondo himself. "Istantaneo" coffee, therefore, not yet "espresso": we will soon see exactly what was meant at that time by espresso coffee. To do so, look at the Ideal machine to your right. In 1901, the Milanese Luigi Bezzera invented the single dispensing group present in this machine. Look at the filter holder with one or more spouts and the attachment system to the central body of the machine: they were already very similar to today's, don't you think? The dispensing group that produces coffee "cup by cup," in fact, marks the birth of espresso coffee, intended as coffee made specifically, that is, at the moment and quickly, upon express request of the customer. But this coffee, although "espresso," was very different from what we are used to today: it was produced with steam, so rather burnt, boiling, and black, without crema, a characteristic that will come more than four decades later. The invention of the dispensing group, applied to the machines produced by the Milanese Desiderio Pavoni, was first exhibited at the Milan International Exhibition of 1906 in Luigi Bezzera's stand, and from that moment on, the sector took off.

The historical group

This section focuses on the historical group from the early 20th century and on the figure of Giuseppe Cìmbali.

Now, turn around. Look at the large photo on the brown dividing panel: it portrays the workers of a workshop where the figure from which the company's story begins is present. A young Giuseppe Cìmbali, portrayed standing on the left with his arms folded, gazing directly and proudly at us, was already a pioneer among pioneers in those years. Indeed, this photo is a historical document with a caption that tells us a story: in 1906, Giuseppe Cìmbali was already active in the sector in the production of those machines that, for the first time, would soon be presented to the world. His story begins here: from an apprenticeship in a sector that would see him become a proud protagonist in the following years, starting from 1912, when he founded his first small workshop in Via Caminadella, in the center of Milan, for the production of boilers for coffee machines produced by others. Instead, in the central photo on the dividing wall of the room, on the left, you can see the photograph of the Bezzera stand and discover, in detail, Mr. Luigi in the foreground, leaning on the counter, next to a sign that confirms his collaboration with Pavoni. The full-wall photos show us an image of the International Exhibition with hot air balloons ready to fly, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele with its historic premises, and one of the first cars starting to travel in the city, giving us back an era of great excitement and elegance.

Work, style, and brands

This section encompasses various themes ranging from work, to style-quality, and brands.

THE ENGINEER OR FIREMAN During this period, machines, column-shaped and powered by gas, electricity, or coal, were operated by engineers with licenses to control steam and pressure and prevent explosions. THE STYLE OF THE ERA Dispensing a dark, hot, cream-free coffee, far from the espresso commonly known today, the machines also aesthetically reflect the style of an era, forever linking industrial style and design in a harmonious language. The Liberty or Art Nouveau style, with curved and sinuous lines, enamels, exotic decorations with a vegetal theme inspired by the little-known coffee plant, characterizes the machines from the early days to the rationalist period. From then on and for decades, the machines are undisputed protagonists on the luxurious coffee counters. Here you can see an original one from 1929, and from the American bars of the time. The machines mirror the style of the era, as a product of Italian ingenuity that soon transcends national borders, once again, particularly thanks to a man from Turin, Pier Teresio Arduino, who, in the 1920s, with his machines, initiates the export of the "Made in Italy" in the sector. THE BRANDS The machines spread, and with them, the word "espresso" soon becomes synonymous with Italian coffee, tasty and strong: Bezzera, La Pavoni, Eterna, Victoria Arduino, Condor, La San Marco are some of the brands that soon gain popularity. And in terms of raw materials? In the ports of Venice, Genoa, Trieste, and Naples, coffee beans continue to arrive as in the past from the countries of origin, and the first roasting plants born a few decades earlier develop. From the end of the 19th century, these begin to organize into entities destined to become international, such as Vergnano (1882) or Lavazza (1895). Thanks to them, Piedmont becomes the cradle of Italian industrial roasting, destined to develop also near other ports like Trieste (Hausbrandt in 1892 and Illy later in 1933), to the point that today in Italy there are around eight hundred from micro to large companies that process raw coffee into roasted, making our country the place from which roasted coffee is exported worldwide. Now move on to the next room...

Room 2: 1929-1947

This room is dedicated to the post-World War I period and autarkic-rationalist regime.

As you can see, this room clearly stands out from the previous one for the style of the machines, which reflects the rationalist current of the time. After the First World War and the collapse of Wall Street in 1929, Western countries experienced serious problems in every aspect of economic, productive, and social life, with severe consequences. The American financial crisis drastically reduced all economic indicators worldwide that measure the well-being and progress of state economies. Each state autonomously tried to contain the crisis through economic protectionism. To safeguard domestic productions, the first autarkic productions were initiated, made exclusively with local raw materials. It was a difficult, complex period of forced immobility that led Italy to sink into a regime that involved state intervention plans, colonial wars, and self-sufficiency. In this context, the entire Italian industry, except for the war industry, experienced a setback. However, the world of espresso machines, within its niche of the few consumers who could aspire to this luxury, continued its path driven by an interesting paradox. While national consumption decreased, in large urban areas, there were peaks of consumption dictated by the concentration of affluent customers who did not want to give up a real espresso. Thus, public places grew and became meeting and cultural places. The espresso machine sector experienced a technological setback (still operating with steam), but people continued to gather around the ritual of the espresso cup prepared at the counter and served at the table. Let's now focus on some machines. The first one to consider is also the first one produced by La Cìmbali. During this period, Giuseppe Cìmbali introduced his first coffee machine to the market, the Rapida with a vertical development. You can find it at the beginning of the room next to an advertising poster of the model variants produced. In the early 1940s, although the technology remained the same, something started to change in the forms: vertical machines began to become horizontal, and performance improved. With the dispensing groups all positioned on the same side, a single operator could handle the dispensing of multiple coffees while comfortably staying in the same position, becoming faster and more efficient. Another accessory that was previously impossible to have in vertical machines, often even equipped with domes, started to appear: the cup warmer, showing increasing care for all stages of espresso preparation. The space, usually located above or next to the horizontally placed boiler, found functionality by utilizing its heat: since then, espresso could not do without a well-warmed cup. In this room, in the center, you can see some machines positioned one behind the other on a long row of white marble parallelepipeds: if you look closely, they seem to form a real locomotive, where the first machine in front, La Cìmbali Ala, bears a strong resemblance, in the dispensing groups, to the position... of a Milan tram driver! If you look at the last one in the row, an imposing San Marco 900, you will discover a small stove where pieces of coal were placed to power the machine, just like for steam train boilers! It is a hybrid machine from the autarkic period, capable of working with gas and electricity, created to overcome the difficulty of access to energy sources and the rationing of raw materials. This was the period when the wealthier classes could afford to consume "real" coffee (an increasingly rare commodity) in cafes, while the more popular classes had to settle for substitutes or surrogates of the much more precious raw material, with "espressos" made from chicory, barley, rye, acorns, figs. Those who could afford it paid a higher price to not give up a pleasure that was becoming more and more a true daily ritual. With the start of the Second World War, many industries shifted to production for wartime activities, and a large part of Italian inventiveness inevitably stalled, setting aside new technological solutions that had to wait for better times. One of these revolutionary innovations concerning the coffee machine would have to wait almost a decade before being realized. But we will talk about it in the next room. However, before that, in this room, focus on the right wall where you can see a selection of filter holders from their origins to today (spot the differences!) and on the last machine in the room: the D.P. 47 designed by Gio Ponti for Pavoni. There are only two of these machines in the world: one is owned by a private collector, while the one exhibited at Mumac is the only one always visible to the public. It is one of the first horizontal development models. Known as "la Cornuta" for the peculiar shape of the dispensers placed above the central cylindrical body, it is a true design masterpiece: a perfect combination of sculptural forms and technological innovation, considered by collectors in the industry as the most beautiful coffee machine in the world even today. It was fortuitously found in an abandoned hotel on the Roman coast and, after extensive restoration by Officine Maltoni, it is one of the most requested machines for national and international loans (it has been to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs at the Louvre in Paris, to the Triennale in Milan, and to the Deutsches Museum in Munich). Despite its unparalleled beauty, la Cornuta was born with steam technology in a transitional period towards a new extraction method that would soon supplant all others: the lever.

Coffee cream

This section focuses on the first appearance of coffee cream.

To discover the new technology, you can move on to the third room. Upon entering, on the left display, you can see a dismantled piston next to a horizontal coffee machine with two boilers. This is the new technological revolution that finally brings us to the espresso coffee as we know it today: with the "crema." It is the Gaggia Classica machine equipped with the "lever" mechanism, of which in 1936, Rosetta Scorza, widow Cremonese, had patented under the title "Plunger tap for espresso coffee machine." Achille Gaggia, a little-known Milanese barista, acquires the invention, experimenting with it inside his Bar Achille, and later develops his own patent, exhibiting for the first time at the Milan Trade Fair in 1939, the cream coffee dispenser (advertised as the "Lampo system, the only coffee compressor that works without steam"); but due to the war, everything comes to a halt. At the end of the conflict, however, we witness a unique moment in Italy's history of economic and social recovery aimed at innovation.

Room from the 1950s

This section focuses on the technological innovations following the Second World War.

The bar becomes a place of gathering and sharing, no longer reserved for an elite but an ideal meeting place for everyone, consecrating coffee in the bar as a social ritual that transcends class distinctions. Riding the wave of well-being and carefreeness that sweep across Italy after the dark years of the war, bars become increasingly crowded and lively places. People gather to watch television, a tool for social aggregation and change, still rare in Italian households. Or they take advantage of coffee time to read the newspaper, discuss sports and politics, spend time in company, ultimately giving substance to the concept of "leisure time," which just a few years earlier was completely unknown to most of the population. The real revolution in espresso coffee machines, in fact, is the invention of the lever. In 1948, Achille Gaggia finally put into production the Classica Gaggia model. For the production of the Classica, Gaggia turned to the FAEMA workshops of Carlo Ernesto Valente, who had opened his Electro-Mechanical Equipment and Related Factory a few years earlier. The machine, equipped with two boilers, allows, thanks to the lever, to have high pressure and water at a temperature below one hundred degrees, without steam generation. The result is extraordinary: the drink is now dispensed in just over thirty seconds, all the burnt flavors caused by the use of steam have disappeared, and for the first time, coffee cream is produced, henceforth inseparable from the concept of espresso consumed at the bar. For today's coffee consumer, cream and espresso are a single concept, but at the time, this was a significant novelty, so much so that the machines displayed the inscription "Natural coffee cream works without steam" to invite customers to taste it. The race of all companies in the sector to create new machines suitable for extracting a creamy espresso coffee first led FAEMA, with its Saturno, and then La Cìmbali, with the Gioiello, to extract, through the lever and without steam, the essential oils of the coffee, which with their aromas give fullness to the taste of the drink and with their emulsion originate the typical cream of espresso. The new technology elevates espresso to a cult and transforms the figure of the "machine operator," the one who used to operate the coffee machine thanks to his stoker's license, into a "counter attendant," an expert user of the lever machine, then positioned, precisely, on the counter, facing the customer. Espresso takes on new names, depending on the company that produces the machines. The inscriptions on the fronts of the machines differ by brand, as you can see in this room. On the Gaggia, the inscription reads Natural coffee cream. On the imposing machine displayed next to it, the Faema Saturno, the first lever machine produced by Valente after the separation from Gaggia and a unique piece in the world, it is indicated "Hydro-compressed Coffee Infusion." But above all, in these years, a new term emerges that will soon identify Italian espresso in the world: Cìmbalino. The term is coined with the launch of La Cìmbali's first lever machine, the Gioiello, presented in a casket like a jewel at the 1950 Milan Fair. Also exhibited here is La Cìmbali Gioiello, a little further down the white counter: next to the machine, you can also find the typical advertising of the time for the Cìmbalino and, behind it, a very accurate miniature reproduction of the machine. If you continue following the long white display case, you can find one of the largest machines produced, La Cìmbali Granluce from 1956, but also many other interesting and noteworthy models such as La San Marco Lollobrigida, La Pavoni Concorso designed by Bruno Munari and Enzo Mari renamed Diamante for its characteristic shape, La Cambi Olimpia dedicated to the 1956 Cortina Winter Olympics, and many others. But here, in the center of the room, there is also a vintage Faema-branded counter where, if you like, you can take a photo behind the counter just like a "counter attendant" of the time.

Room 60s-70s

This room is dedicated to the boom of the 60s-70s and the importance that design had during that period.

Continuing into the next room, we find ourselves in the Hall dedicated to the 1960s and 1970s and the design boom. From bicycles to sports cars, from poverty to wealth, from patched clothing to fashionable attire; these were the years of economic boom and widespread prosperity. Years in which, from the triumphs of Coppi and Bartali in the previous decades, heroes of a poor and rural country and of a nation yet to be invented, we move on to Merckx, the first modern cyclist. The champion (and the FAEMA jersey he wore) is discussed in bars, where people gather to discuss the news reported by the "Gazzetta" and the radio, and later by television. Coffee and cycling, an inseparable combination that continues to this day. In this room, you can find some mementos from the most glorious period of Faema team's cycling history, a team that won everything there was to win during its golden era. During these years, the true industrialization of the coffee machine sector begins, with machines becoming standardized and easily assembled on assembly lines. Production shifts from artisanal to industrial. The decade opens with an innovation introduced by FAEMA with the launch of a truly innovative coffee machine, which you can find upon entering the room on the left. The Tartaruga model (TRR), the so-called "continuous dispensing machine" from 1960, which the following year evolves into the E61 model (named after the solar eclipse that occurred in Italy that year). The machine, which you can see in two versions with two and four groups, with its recognizable and distinctive front panel, has become an icon in the world of bars for its aesthetics and the quality of the coffee it dispenses. It is still in demand and produced today, also because the invention of the volumetric pump, in addition to positively affecting the extraction of the beverage with crema, allows the operator considerable savings in effort. All the heavy and dangerous work previously required by piston and lever operations is replaced by the simple use of a lever that lightens and simplifies the work of the barista. In front of the E61, you can see another notable machine: the Cìmbali Pitagora, designed in 1962 by the brothers Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, architects and designers, who were awarded, for this project, the Compasso d'Oro: for the first and only time in history, a professional espresso coffee machine wins this prestigious award. In the display case at the beginning of the corridor, you have the opportunity to see the award and some documents related to the award ceremony, including the jury's motivation. To meet the production needs of the Pitagora and to have a larger and more suitable space for mass production, Cìmbali moved from Milan to Binasco during those years. But the years that follow are difficult, remembered as the Years of Lead. The greyness of the decade is paradoxically offset by the new shapes, materials, and colors that also emerge in coffee machines. American influence is once again felt, in a period where socially - between youth, women, and workers' revolutions - changes are epochal, while politically and economically, the country faces the first major post-war crisis. In the design field, pop culture prevails, introducing in all sectors bright colors aiming to express a disruptive self-affirmation. The last great revolution that affects the coffee machine sector is perhaps the least sought after, but certainly with the greatest impact on consumers: a new perspective, a change in the relationship. Work and society impose increasingly frantic rhythms, coffee is consumed quickly, and there is a focus on greater productivity at the counter, with more space to serve customers. Machines are then confined to the back counter area, forcing the barista to turn away from the customer during preparation. The relationship loses depth, which in previous decades facilitated a slow and "social" consumption, guaranteeing a more meaningful exchange between barista and customer than just a simple service. It's just a few meters' shift, but it marks an epochal turning point: aesthetics change completely, research focuses on the dispensing groups, volumes are reduced and tend towards compactness. Displayed here, near the end of the room, a red machine catches the eye: the Cìmbali M15, designed by Rodolfo Bonetto, anticipates this trend. It is the first model to assume a "C" shape at the sides to compact the volumes while providing more lateral maneuvering space for the barista.

80s-90s Room

This room focuses on the period between the 80s and 90s, a prelude to internationalization that still continues today.

The 1980s mark a turning point. After the heated and heavy political and social climate of the 1970s and an economic system that risks sinking the country, numerous factors contribute to its recovery: the drop in oil prices, the depreciation of the dollar, containment of labor costs, public interventions to support businesses, technological innovations in processes and products. Not only private companies but also public ones see their situation improving, so much so that in 1986 Italy surpasses Great Britain in terms of both gross domestic product and per capita. The Italy "led" by the youth wears a more colorful, more international outfit, emulating the English and Americans but with a well-defined style. Fashion and design drive the economy and the Made in Italy establishes itself in an increasingly globalized world. Even coffee machine manufacturers enter international markets, achieving almost immediate success. It is the period in which the Italian electronics industry, along with that of the first computers, conquers markets. The same happens in the sector of professional coffee machines, with an elegance, a personality, and a unique style thanks to the creations of the major international designers. Italy, already excellent in fashion, design, and highly sought after as a tourist destination, becomes increasingly representative as an expression of style and "bien vivre," where the ritual of coffee at the bar and cappuccino gain popularity abroad. Coffee machines seize the opportunity to establish themselves as symbols of espresso culture and perfect embodiments of celebrated Italian design, appearing in establishments worldwide: electronics lead to simplification of use combined with care and excellence previously unattainable. With the FAEMA Tronic designed in 1983 by Ettore Sottsass and Aldo Cibic, the first electronic machine is born, which, with its keypad, allows dosing the amount of coffee dispensed. The opening to markets where the specialization of personnel is not comparable to that of Italy and automation is more widespread accelerates the development of "super-automatic" machines with full automation, capable of dispensing a full menu of coffee and milk-based beverages by simply pressing a button: the direct user can guarantee a product of constant quality, and thus, espresso "as made in Italy" can be enjoyed in every corner of the Earth. This openness to new cultures and consumption habits different from the Italian taste leads companies to design flexible espresso coffee machines, adaptable to local needs. This is the period in which many technological innovations are born to increasingly improve machines to make them user-friendly, rationalizing the available space. In this room, electronics, play, colors, accessories, images, and machines that have represented an era that goes beyond the 80s to the 90s all merge. In the early 1990s, Italy finds itself in fifth place among industrial powers, with an increasingly widespread demand to reconcile the fundamental principles of economic activity (competitiveness, productivity, and efficiency) with broader interests, including ensuring the quality of work, accessing new training processes, protecting health and the environment. In the field of coffee machines, this means improving energy efficiency, optimizing use, improving ergonomics, favoring new materials with a lower environmental impact, paying attention to the safety and health of users and consumers, ensuring increasingly innovative and challenging qualitative parameters in the production process and performance. In 1991, the FAEMA technical office, in collaboration with Giugiaro Design for the aesthetic part, develops an evolved product in the traditional machine sector: the E91. You can admire its design inspired by the harmonious lines of the historic E61 model, thus identifying an element of continuity with the company's tradition. The E91 is equipped with state-of-the-art technology for the period because it is equipped with a microprocessor with improved performance, allowing the programming of functions aimed at optimizing ease of use and production yield. At the same time, in traditional machines, there is a need to reduce the operations of releasing and attaching the portafilter, making the products increasingly user-friendly for the barista. Therefore, La Cìmbali launches on the market, in the early 1990s, the super-automatic M50 Dolcevita, displayed here, to which a fridge module can be added for proper milk storage, also equipping the cup warmer with a UV lamp sterilizer to ensure optimal hygiene. The advent of electronics is increasingly crucial in the development of the espresso coffee machine, as it allows controlling numerous parameters, improving performance and opening up, in the following decades, to various evolutionary possibilities. In Italy, meanwhile, after the Mani Pulite scandal, the transition between the First and Second Republic takes place.

The growth of Cimbali worldwide

Omen-nomen, the Italian espresso transforms from north to south into Cimbalino: "Whole cream-coffee: an aromatic, stimulating, creamy and very hot coffee, that is, a perfectly successful coffee," as stated in a promotional brochure of the time. The idea for the name comes from the creativity of the second-generation Cimbali brothers: a Cimbalino became synonymous with a good Italian coffee and the way to order an espresso at the bar - a hot, intense, round, creamy coffee, with a fine-textured tonality and tiger-striping, which does not reveal the black liquid underneath - which in some countries around the world remains unchanged to this day. Inventions run with the full economic recovery: if until a few years earlier Vespa and Lambretta were the only means affordable to everyone, in the mid-Fifties the number of cars circulating in the country grew to over a million, so much so that newspapers, for the first time, talk about traffic problems. Car production quintuples and so do coffee machines, which at the time of the Ideale were produced in small numbers (one per day) and by the end of the Fifties reach the significant number of fifty per day to spread from North to South, in Italy and throughout the world.

Omen-nomen, the Italian espresso transforms from north to south into Cimbalino: "Full-cream coffee: an aromatic, stimulating, creamy and piping hot coffee, that is, the perfectly successful coffee," as stated in an advertising brochure of the time. The idea of the name comes from the creativity of the Cimbali brothers of the second generation: a Cimbalino becomes synonymous with a good Italian coffee and the way to order an espresso at the bar - a hot, intense, round, creamy coffee, with a shade and a tiger-stripe pattern of fine texture, which does not reveal the black liquid underneath - which in some countries in the world remains unchanged to this day. Inventions run with the full economic recovery: if until a few years earlier Vespa and Lambretta were the only means available to everyone, in the mid-fifties the cars circulating in the country grow to over a million, so much so that the newspapers, for the first time, talk about traffic problems. Car production quintuples and also coffee machines, which at the time of the Ideale were produced in small numbers (one a day) and by the end of the fifties reach the considerable number of fifty a day to spread from North to South, in Italy and throughout the world.

The new millennium

This section focuses on the new millennium, dominated by the pursuit of flexibility and responsibility.

Passing into the sixth room, one is transported temporally into our millennium, where the keywords become flexibility and responsibility. On the walls of the room, large photographs take us back through the last two decades of contemporaneity, to the birth of the euro, to the awareness of the need for sustainability, to major technological innovations, such as the James Webb Space Telescope. The global spread of coffee consumption and changes in social dynamics influence the ways in which the quintessential social beverage is consumed. The advent of the new millennium, colored by great expectations and great concerns, has drastically changed the global view and structure: from the Twin Towers to economic crises, reaching the emergencies of climate change and the pandemic, the step has been as short as it has been significant. Technology, with exponential speed, has partly eroded culture and interpersonal relationships, but certainly not the pleasure of a cup of coffee. Bars are no longer the only undisputed gathering places: a good coffee or cappuccino can be enjoyed in a waiting room at a train station or airport, in a bookstore or boutique, anywhere in the world. The early years of the new millennium see a return to minimalism in architecture and common spaces. Minimalism is also reflected in the world of coffee machines: clean, elegant, and essential lines, almost satin-like and impactful materials characterize the design of the first decade of the 2000s, aimed at an increasingly fast-paced and demanding society. There is also a growing attention to coffee culture and product quality, a trend that has led to the emergence of a true community of enthusiasts, professional baristas, and coffee specialists. At the same time, professional machines are becoming increasingly flexible and technologically advanced, with extremely simple user interfaces, including touchscreens, which combine energy savings with high performance, demonstrating a growing awareness of the environment as a place not only to live but also to protect. To promote knowledge and culture of coffee and the machines that dispense it, in 2012 Gruppo Cìmbali inaugurated the MUMAC, combining the archives of the Cìmbali family and the world's largest private collector, Enrico Maltoni, gathering objects that have characterized our daily lives for over a century and documents that contribute to reconstructing the history of an entire sector of Made in Italy. If in past decades it was easy to identify a mainstream, today this seems impossible. The society in which we live and operate is characterized by both fluidity and complexity, traits that are aesthetically expressed in the synthesis between postmodernist theses and deconstructionist antitheses. Gruppo Cìmbali has brought machines to the market whose design is a play of references, as in the case of the Cìmbali M100, a synthesis of Valerio Cometti's industrial design concept of V12 Design that has established itself in the new millennium with sober lines of elegance and functionality concealing cutting-edge technologies, or tributes, showcasing the ability to dare in shapes like in Giugiaro's Faema Emblema. Daring in shapes and daring in technology, which becomes a precious ally in making the machine increasingly "flexible" and suitable to meet every need: from coffee specialists (coffee sommeliers) to traditional baristas, and, of course, to end consumers. Espresso coffee in the service of the customer remains, after more than a hundred years, a priority. Today, this means innovating to improve performance and customization possibilities, thanks to artificial intelligence, which promotes function customization while obtaining information to optimize settings and maintenance and enabling remote technical assistance. Today's machines are highly technological in both their traditional expression (like the M100 Attiva and FAEMA E71E, recognized as worthy to enter the ADI 2019 Index and winner of the Red Dot Design Award 2019) and in the super-automatic realm (like the Red Dot Design Award-winning La Cìmbali S30 in 2016 or the S15 smart in use and technology) that you will see in the next room. These are the years of major rebranding efforts that, with references to the past, project into the future. Even the La Cìmbali and Faema brands are subject to a rebranding that responds to the need to meet the demands of an increasingly attentive and aware consumer regarding the coherence between brand, purpose, and product. The rebranding, of which the LaCìmbali M200 and Faemina are the first respective representatives to bring the new logos into the world in 2021. The latest generation machines acquire a sense of style combined with functionality. And they interact. Among themselves and with people, in a synesthesia of function and aesthetics. The coffee machine is increasingly adapting to respect sustainability standards: energy saving, consumption monitoring, and recyclable materials become keywords of a new awareness. Customers are always at the forefront today, now free to interact even with apps to get a tailor-made coffee, in total autonomy. Attention to the environment, ergonomics, health, and all-around sustainability are no longer topics to compromise on. In the name of technology, the future is open. A future dedicated to the service and enhancement of one of the most sought-after beverages in the world. The desire and taste for a coffee prepared with artistry remain constant, a quintessential break, where one can find oneself in a time that is solely ours, in the heart of one's own home as well as in a coffee shop. In every sense. Because ultimately the question is a simple one: Shall we have a coffee?

Lab: culture, technology, and future in a cup

This section focuses on the Lab as an area where culture and technology showcase the future of the coffee world.

In the last room of the museum, the Lab, memory and future blend in the icons of time. Among new and, at the same time, ancient galaxies of knowledge to explore, the future is hidden in the past. Innovating from tradition means renewing ideas, giving new meaning to the milestones of history, inventions, customs, and habits. Here, you are welcomed by real thematic islands, taking you through past, present, and future dimensions that intertwine to make you understand the challenges faced over time by the company, between technological insights, innovations, social and cultural corporate responsibilities, and achievements. The representation of the union between present, past, and future is characterized by the photographs on the walls, coming from the Hubble and Webb telescopes that take us directly into a past so remote that it is unimaginable, through a technology so innovative that it brushes against the future. A new space dedicated to the infinite connection between past, present, and future through six thematic islands that illustrate some of the most important themes for our history and the company's mission. To discover them, proceed by turning right immediately. The first island is dedicated to Faema E61: history and myth. Since 1961, the most widespread and long-lasting machine, here in the two versions created for its 60th anniversary in 2021, and in the version dedicated to the Giro d'Italia, of which Faema has resumed sponsorship since 2022 and to which the temporary exhibition "Amore Infinito" has been dedicated. The second island tells the difference between traditional and super-automatic machines. The difference has been there for over 50 years. The Pitagora, which has held the undefeated record for 60 years as the coffee machine winner of the Compasso d'Oro, is a "traditional" machine, where the operator is required to perform all operations to extract coffee, from grinding to serving; the Superbar, born a few years later and based on the same design, in 1969 is among the very first super-automatic machines, where the request for the drink is made by simply pressing a button that starts all the preparation operations. In the third island, some company house organs from the past are exhibited. As a communication and dissemination tool, they were created to spread company information within the company. La Cìmbali produces the Caffettiera in the early '60s, telling the company's life inside and outside the business; Faema publishes Caffè Club at the end of the decade, a real magazine for all venues equipped with machines of their brand. Today, the word goes to social media. And tomorrow? In the next one, near the Cìmbali S15, the "electronic nose" is displayed, an object that, between electronics, ingenuity, and chemistry, transforms innovation into a useful tool. The innovative software created by Gruppo Cìmbali in collaboration with a spin-off of the University of Brescia won the Smau Innovation Award in 2021. To find out how it works and what it is for, simply scan the QR Code found on the caption. Move on to the island dedicated to grinders and dosers. Four dosers for two brands: La Cìmbali, from Model 4/A from 1962 to the current Elective; Faema, from the FP of 1955 to today's Grounbraker. From craftsmanship to mass production with increasingly precise grinding technology. Leading to integrated grinding in machines as in the super-automatic S30 displayed here, winner of the Red Hot Award (design Valerio Cometti). In the next one, personalization is discussed: the flexibility and the possibility of customizing the panels of the new Faema President, as well as that of other machines, make the machines increasingly adaptable in an original and personalized way in any environment. In the penultimate display, espresso for everyone advances with the section dedicated to home use: yesterday with Baby Faema, today with Faemina equipped with a professional group, the Faema brand brings to the domestic market a high-level product for espresso like in a bar. In the last island, the brand's excellence with rebranding into a machine is showcased. M200 from 2021 is La Cìmbali's flagship machine that tells the brand's new positioning and a new story of innovation and design. An overview of the brand's transformation. Finally, crossing the museum's last threshold and entering its red heart, heritage and future meet in an artwork, an installation suspended between technology, art, and design: the exploded view of La Cìmbali M100, the Centenary machine. Here, you can truly understand the complexity hidden behind what is only seemingly a simple cup of coffee. Technological soul, innovation, design reveal all the hands and minds of a long and complex chain made of raw materials, patents, creativity, and entrepreneurship.