Italian Pipe Production Panorama - part V

The ability to move in tune with the demands of the market whilst regaining the trust which accompanied the birth of Ascorti pipes, has brought a new impetus to the sale of his products in Italy (they have always done very well abroad). Here, too, there is a master craftsman at work: "Cesarino" Viganò, with the firm since 1970. Someone who was unable to keep up the pace, due to bad advisors and wrong choices, is Dorelio Rovera, who had continued making his father‘s Ardor pipes. Though specialized in the production of exquisitely carved briar pipes, he hesitatingly chose to move toward the production of a more "normal" style. A family with a long "pipe" history, the Roveras found themselves making excellent, and often unique, pipes without being as well-known on the Italian market as they were, for instance, in Germany. It is the usual problem of small artisans who fall into the hands of shop keepers determined to lay down all the rules and decide where and for how much an artisan‘s pipes must sell.

(to be continued...)

Next articles: Italian Pipe Production Panorama - part VI