L'Italo-Americano

IMPRESA ITALIA MADE IN ITALY TOP BRANDS BUSINESS & ECONOMY THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2026 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano F or those of us who are old enough to have traveled in the years before digital screens, the memory is unmistakable: in airports and train stations, departure boards would sud- denly come to life with a rapid sequence of clicks as letters a n d n u m b e r s f l i p p e d i n t o place. Rows of destinations, flight numbers, and times rearranged themselves in a matter of seconds, accompa- nied by a sound that became p a r t o f t h e a t m o s p h e r e o f modern travel. T h o s e b o a r d s w e r e t h e work of Solari di Udine, an Italian company that shaped how public time and informa- tion were organized during the twentieth century. The story of Solari begins far from airports and railway stations, in the small Friulian village of Pesariis, where the Solari family started produc- ing clocks in 1725. The area would eventually earn the nickname il paese degli orologi, the village of clocks, reflecting a local tradition of timekeeping. The first Solari c l o c k s w e r e m e c h a n i c a l devices created for churches a n d p u b l i c b u i l d i n g s , designed to regulate daily life in communities where the sound of a bell tower marked the rhythm of work, prayer, and daily activities. From these beginnings, the family gradually developed a reputa- tion for technical precision that would guide the compa- ny's evolution over the follow- ing centuries. By the twentieth century, the demands of modern life had changed the meaning of timekeeping. Expanding rail networks, growing cities, and industrial work schedules required clocks that could operate across large systems rather than in isolated loca- tions. Solari responded by moving beyond traditional clockmaking into synchro- nized public clocks and i n f o r m a t i o n s y s t e m s . Railway stations, factories, schools, and civic buildings needed reliable ways to dis- p l a y t i m e a n d c o o r d i n a t e activity, and companies like Solari began designing equip- ment capable of managing those needs on a larger scale. This shift eventually led to the development of the tech- n o l o g y t h a t w o u l d m a k e Solari internationally recog- nizable: the split-flap dis- play. Instead of a static sign, the system used rotating pan- els, each printed with letters or numbers, that could flip r a p i d l y t o s h o w u p d a t e d information. When multiple rows of panels moved at once, the result was a distinctive visual and acoustic effect as d e s t i n a t i o n s a n d t i m e s c h a n g e d i n a c a s c a d e o f mechanical motion. The tech- nology proved particularly useful in places where infor- mation had to be updated constantly and clearly, such as railway stations and air- ports. One of the most important objects associated with this innovation is the Cifra 3 clock, introduced in 1965 and designed by the architect and designer Gino Valle. Compact, precise, and imme- diately recognizable, the clock used a similar flipping mech- a n i s m t o d i s p l a y t i m e t h r o u g h r o t a t i n g n u m b e r panels. The device quickly became an icon of Italian industrial design, combining technical ingenuity with a clear, functional aesthetic. Its c u l t u r a l s i g n i f i c a n c e w a s e v e n t u a l l y a c k n o w l e d g e d beyond Italy as well: the Cifra 3 is now part of the perma- nent design collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Behind these designs stood both engineering skill and inventive thinking: The mech- anism that allowed the split panels to rotate efficiently was patented by Remigio S o l a r i i n 1 9 6 6 , h e l p i n g establish the technical foun- dation for many of the dis- plays that would appear in transport hubs around the world. From European rail- way stations to international a i r p o r t s , S o l a r i s y s t e m s became associated with the visual language of travel in the second half of the twenti- eth century. For decades, the s o u n d o f f l i p p i n g p a n e l s accompanied the movement o f p a s s e n g e r s s c a n n i n g boards for flights, platforms, or delays. Although digital screens h a v e n o w r e p l a c e d m o s t mechanical boards, the older s y s t e m s r e m a i n d e e p l y embedded in cultural memo- ry. Designers, architects, and t r a v e l e r s o f t e n r e m e m b e r them not only for their relia- bility but also for the clarity of t h e i r d e s i g n . E a c h l e t t e r a p p e a r e d c l e a n l y , e a c h change of information was visible and audible, and the mechanical rhythm gave pub- lic spaces a sense of move- ment that modern displays rarely reproduce. Today, Solari di Udine continues to operate from northeastern Italy, producing clocks and information sys- tems adapted to contempo- rary technology while main- taining the heritage of its earlier work. T oday, the engage- m e n t r i n g i s almost universal- ly associated with t h e p r o m i s e o f marriage, often imagined as a diamond set in gold and presented during a carefully staged proposal. Yet the cus- tom of giving a ring to mark a b e t r o t h a l h a s m u c h o l d e r roots, and some of the earli- e s t c l e a r e v i d e n c e f o r t h e practice in the Western world comes from ancient Rome. In Roman society, mar- riage was not only a personal union but also a legal and social agreement between families. The engagement, known as sponsalia, formal- ized the intention to marry and was often accompanied b y t h e e x c h a n g e o f g i f t s ; among them, one was a ring given by the future hus- band to the bride-to-be, symbolizing the commitment that had been made. Unlike modern engagement rings, which are usually associated with romance and luxury, Roman betrothal rings were often made of iron. The material reflected the practi- cal character of the agree- ment: the ring served as a visible sign that the woman was promised in marriage. Over time, the symbolic meaning of the ring grew stronger. Roman writers and later authors transmitted the idea that the fourth finger of the left hand held a spe- cial significance: according to a belief already mentioned in ancient sources, a vein was thought to run directly from t h i s f i n g e r t o t h e h e a r t . Because the heart was associ- ated with emotion and life, placing the ring on this finger gradually acquired symbolic meaning. Although modern anatomy does not support the existence of such a vein, the idea remained part of the cultural tradition associated with marriage. This associa- tion between the ring and the left ring finger continued through the Middle Ages and into the modern era. In this sense, the Roman practice did not create the engagement ring exactly as we know it today, but it did establish the framework for t h e t r a d i t i o n , t h e i d e a o f marking a promise of mar- r i a g e w i t h a r i n g , a n d o f wearing it on a specific finger linked symbolically to the heart. …And this is why some- thing we still do today has its most recognizable roots in Roman customs that go back nearly two thousand years. Worn on the ring finger – believed since Roman times to be connected to the heart through the vena amoris – the engagement ring continues to evoke a bond linking symbol, body, and emotion (Photo: Mariel Alvarez/Dreamstime) T h e e n g a g e m e n t r i n g a n d i t s Roman origins Solari di Udine: the design of time The flip-board displays made famous by Solari of Udine shaped stations and airports for decades, turning them into instantly recognizable spaces where information, visual rhythm, and design came together in a single system (Photo: Yulan/Dreamstime)

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