By Alessia Benelli
Until the end of August it will be possible to admire the works of the students of the International School of Comics.
The link between the world of art and design and La Marzocco has been solid for several decades. This year an important collaboration has taken place with the International School of Comics in Florence. The exhibition hosts the works created by the participants of the last Illustration Marathon, held on 25 March at the Accademia.
Illustration Marathon is a competition that involves the participants creating eight comic strips or illustrations in eight hours, in a single day, with an assigned theme. The aim of the competition, which takes its idea from an already existing format by Scott McCLoud (the challenge for cartoonists of the 24 Hour Comics Day), is to promote the visual arts and support the training of young artists in the field of comics, illustration and concept art.
For the 2023 edition of the Marathon, the International School of Comics has chosen Accademia del Caffè Espresso as the location, the multifunctional center founded by La Marzocco, a historic Florentine company that produces professional coffee machines, to spread the culture of coffee.
On 25 March, the Accademia chose the theme ‘Origins’ which lends itself to a dual interpretation: the origins of coffee, therefore a focus on the places of production, cultivation and the long supply chain, but also the origins of La Marzocco, told in the Academy through an exhibition that touches on the milestones of the history and technological innovation of the artisan company.
So that the theme, unveiled only on the morning of the Marathon, could be placed in relation with the Academy, the participants in the competition had the possibility of discovering the contents of the museum space and the location through a guided tour focused on the birth and development of coffee and La Marzocco.
The exhibition hosts the works of the 50 participants in the Marathon, who mainly developed the theme of historical and biographical origin, of the company and that of geographical origin, with illustrations of plantations and growers. As well as a free interpretation of the concept of ‘origins’.
During the inauguration of the exhibition, the first temporary exhibition of the year for the Accademia, the judges Alessio D’Uva and Ausonia (School of Comics of Florence), Alessandro Foglino and Stefano Zagni (La Marzocco and Accademia del Caffè Espresso) announced the Marathon winners: Roberta Depetro, Lorenzo Barbieri and Simona Cavallini. Depreto’s work is an interpretation of the origins of coffee, that of Barbieri represents one of the founders Giuseppe Bambi and finally that of Cavallini tells of Officine Fratelli Bambi.
THE ORIGINS OF MARZOCCO
Founded in 1927 by Giuseppe and Bruno Bambi, La Marzocco was born in Florence, cradle of the Italian Renaissance and home of brilliant minds such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Brunelleschi, who created some of the most famous works of art in the world.
only natural that La Marzocco has earned a reputation for building beautiful, handcrafted espresso machines with a keen eye for detail. It was La Marzocco who developed and patented the first coffee machine with a horizontal boiler in 1939, today an industry standard. It was the first in a long series of innovations, which then led to the introduction of a double boiler system with saturated extraction groups.
A shared passion for tradition and the pursuit of superior quality and reliability continue to distinguish the company. Even today specialized personnel supervise each stage of the production of each machine, handcrafted according to the order of our customers. Thus Giuseppe Bambi’s great experience and pride in his work continue to live on after more than eighty years.
Today La Marzocco continues to be a point of reference in terms of expertise and progress in the espresso industry.
Info and reservations: “L’Accademia del Caffè Espresso”, Via Bolognese 68, Pian di San Bartolo, Fiesole (Fi) / www.accademiaespresso.com / visit@accademiaespresso.com / Tel. +39 055 0987301
Visits only by appointment: Monday to Friday 10.00 – 17.00 / Closed on Saturdays and Sundays