L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, MAY 18, 2017 www.italoamericano.org 8 FRANCESCA BEZZONE I n a world where the younger generations are less and less a c q u a i n t e d w i t h p e n a n d paper, and more and more in love with keyboards, talking about the pleasure of writing with a a good fountain pen may seem old fashioned. Call me old fashioned, then, because that's what I'm going to do. When I was in Elementary school, we all wrote with foun- tain pens, usually emblazoned with our favorite cartoon char- acters -I had a Tweetie one. Italian children of the mid- 80s knew how to recognize a good fountain pen when they got their mitts on one. In my class we all had a favorite, the sturdy, trustworthy "Auretta," Aurora's colorful, cheap-and- cheerful proposal for students: slightly more expensive than those cartoon characters one we collected, Aurettas were on a total different planet when it came to quality. I loved mine: it was red and black, with a small quill that didn't mind one bit I was left handed. What I didn't know then - and I know now - was that my Auretta was a pen of high lin- eage, it was an Aurora. Aurora was born off a dream a n d h a d , a t l e a s t a t i t s v e r y inception, a bit of a proletarian charm: it was 1919 when Isaia L e v i o p e n e d h i s f a c t o r y i n Turin, a city at the time domi- nated by the Socialists. No won- der, then, that Levi chose the name of the Russian cruiser that started the October Revolution for his business. People change, t h o u g h , a n d A u r o r a ' s o w n founder, Mr Levi, became a sen- ator under the Fascist régime: Mussolini had him and his fam- i l y " a r i a n i z e d " s o t h a t t h e y would not suffer under the 1938 Racial Laws. Levi retired after the end of the war and left his company to a nephew, Giuseppe Enriques, who lead it until the 1960s, when it was acquired by the Verona family, who still owns it today. Aurora was, and still is, the most famous Italian fountain pens brand, the country's own a n s w e r t o G e r m a n y ' s Montblanc, the US' Parker and France's Waterman. Its stylish c h a r m h a d k i n g s b e s o t t e d - famous is the Aurora "Petra," d e s i g n e d o n d e m a n d f o r Jordan's royal family - and art lover conquered - two of its 1970s models, the Hastil and the Thesi, both designed by Marco Zanuso, headed straight to the MoMa. In more recent years, Aurora collaborated with Louis Vuitton, Versace and Giugiaro. When it all started, though, back in 1919, no one thought of hitting it that big. The first mod- els to be developed were the R.A. and the F.A., the first char- acterised by a safety filler, the latter by an eyedropper filler: the aim was that of providing a national alternative to the popu- lar, but more expensive fountain pens coming from the US. In the 1920s, the company intro- duced a pocket friendly version of the F.A., the F.A.S., made with cheaper materials. Also in the 1920s, a lever filler pen, the A.R.A. model, was introduced. In fact, the A.R.A. was an inter- national success, the first model to put Aurora out there interna- t i o n a l l y , a l o n g w i t h t h e b i g names in the business. These first models were all realised in black ebonite, with other colors, like red and the rarer "mottled" red to follow. Galvanized by the success of the A.R.A. model, Aurora started p r o d u c i n g c e l l u l o i d p e n s , t o k e e p u p w i t h t h e t r e n d s a n d styles of American fountain pen producers, Parker above them all. I n t r u t h A u r o r a , a s m a n y other European fountain pen makers, took fundamental inspi- ration from overseas' produc- tion, leaving to the US the ruling spot when it came to innovation. However, Aurora's pen making was internationally recognized for its uttermost quality and for the attention given to details and design. Famous creation of these years - we're always in the roar- ing 20s - is the Duplex, clear h o m a g e t o P a r k e r ' s o w n Duofold. In the 1930s, Aurora breaks the international markets and a s p e c i a l m o d e l , t h e " I n t e r n a z i o n a l e " i s c r e a t e d exclusively for sales in France. Seeking for a rare Aurora to add to your collection? Well, then remain in the 1930s and look no f u r t h e r t h a n t h e " E t i o p i a , " reportedly created in 1935, dur- i n g t h e F a s c i s t c a m p a i g n i n Abyssinia. Legend says that the company made the pen thinking of the soldiers out at front, thus equipping it with a particular eyedropper filler, with a dry ink tablets reservoir. Fascinating story, isn't it? Yes, but not real. the "Etiopia" was launched in 1936, when the A b y s s i n i a n w a r h a d a l r e a d y ended. T h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a r brought loss and destruction to the company: its main factory in Turin was severely damaged by Allied bombings and all materi- als and archives went entirely lost. Just as a phoenix though, Aurora rose from its own ashes and came out, in 1946, with its most iconic and coveted model, the 88, which remains Aurora's most sold model today. T h e c h e a p - a n d - c h e e r f u l Auretta of my childhood memo- ries was launched in the 1960s, the first fountain pen in Italy to u s e i n k c a r t r i d g e s . I t w a s t o remain a faithful school com- panion to hundreds of thousand Italian children well into the 1980s. Aurora today is a true symbol o f t h e b e s t " M a d e i n I t a l y " , encompassing tradition, beauty and quality all in one little, pre- cious writing item. It's particu- larly appreciated abroad, with 5 5 % o f t h e c o m p a n y ' s s a l e s coming from outside of Italy, but don't get the wrong idea, we s t i l l l o v e o u r A u r o r a s h e r e : fountain pen writing is a trea- sured skill for many, because there's a sense of eternity tied to it. As Aurora's president Cesare V e r o n a d e c l a r e d t o " L a Repubblica," an Italian daily, "We're no longer able to read documents on floppy disks, but think of it: we can still read ink- written tomes from more than 1000 years ago." Sometimes technology may just not be the best answer to immortality. Born off Isaia Levi's dream, who opened his factory in Turin, Aurora is still is the most famous Italian fountain pens brand The pleasure of writing, Italian style: the history of Aurora fountain pens LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE

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