La Marzocco
A Florentine espresso-machine maker whose own history begins in 1927 and takes its name from the lion symbol of Florence.
La Marzocco’s own history begins in Florence in 1927, when the brothers Giuseppe and Bruno Bambi established Officine Fratelli Bambi. The machine took its name, La Marzocco, from the lion that is a symbol of Florence and sat on top of the new machine.
The company records a 1939 patent filed by Giuseppe Bambi for an espresso machine with a horizontal boiler, which it describes as the first of its kind; the introduction of a volumetric pump in 1961, which stabilised extraction pressure at 9 bar; and a 1970 patent for the GS model, described as the first machine with a double boiler and saturated brew groups.
In 2009 the company moved to a newer factory in Scarperia, about 30 km north of Florence. The Linea Mini followed in 2015, presented as a machine designed for home baristas, and the Linea Micra in 2022, described as the first machine designed exclusively for home use.
- Founded
- 1927, Florence (as Officine Fratelli Bambi)
- Founders
- Giuseppe and Bruno Bambi
- Factory
- Scarperia, about 30 km north of Florence (since 2009)
Editor’s Selection is an editorial choice by Sunjae Sharmah. Names and marks belong to their owners; no affiliation with, or endorsement by, the brand is implied.
Added October 2026