Athena was a milestone for Victoria Arduino. It is an espresso machine whose fundamental features are its rationality and linearity. It is no coincidence that it was named after the goddess of wisdom, art and culture, the Athena who was born so arrogantly and already fully-grown from the head of Zeus himself, to present herself to gods and humanity alike in all her virginal beauty, algid in her purity. The city of Athens took its name from her and excelled above all in discoveries and innovations in the field of art, literature and philosophy – like the Victoria Arduino espresso machine in other aspects. The good omen invoked by the name, therefore, has kept its promises and given life to a product with an impeccable line and a rational functionality.
The birth of the Athena was accompanied by that of a formidable instrument of communications, namely television. After the first programmes went on air, most Italians found they were forced to change their habits and meet in coffee bars to watch popular shows like “Lascia o raddoppia?” or compelling football matches. A notice hung in many coffee bars stated “Patrons must purchase to watch TV programmes”. And what better for drowning the stress of hanging on for that vital goal than a steaming hot cup of coffee, brewed with an elegant Athena?
At the cinema too, where Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman were all the rage, the interval was always planned to coincide with the evening news or the main sports summaries, to be commented upon in the foyer of the chicest places, gripping a tiny cup of espresso silently drizzled out of an Athena.
Victoria Arduino’s long past has always been characterised by the reliability and beauty of the machines it manufactures, namely the way in which it presented its creations to customers worldwide. It had to develop an extremely well-designed form, whose perfection allowed it to overcome ethnic tastes and preferences, as well as speaking the universal language of art.
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