Alfonso Bialetti was born in Casale Corte Cerro on June 17, 1888, to Luigi and Luigia Sartorisio.

At a very young age, he went to France to work in a foundry, where he learned the technique of shell casting, which profoundly influenced his business activities. Upon returning to Italy, he opened Alfonso Bialetti & C., an atelier for the design and manufacture of finished, market-ready products.

In 1933, inspired by the workings of the lisciveuse-an ancient prototype washing machine-he invented the Moka Express, named in homage to the Yemeni city of Mokhā, known for producing and exporting coffee.

Success was immediate, although in the early days production remained on an artisanal scale, with a still limited number of pieces per year. It was after World War II that the business experienced expansion on an industrial and international scale, thanks mainly to the entrepreneurial intuition of his son Renato. It was to him, in fact, that we owe the winning decision to implement an intense advertising campaign, entrusted to the famous designer Paul Campani, who created the iconic “little man with a mustache” – a caricature of Renato himself -, which later became the symbol of Bialetti around the world.

Alfonso Bialetti died in Omegna on March 5, 1970.

You can check thebirth certificate on the Ancestor Portal: Verbania State Archives > Italian Civil Status > Casale Corte Cerro (Verbano-Cusio-Ossola province) > 1888

The original is kept at theState Archives in Verbania.