L’espresso. Modernità e tradizione nell’Italia del caffè

• Claudia Baldoli ^[1]
  1. [1] University of Newcastle
• Localización: Memoria e ricerca, ISSN 1127-0195, ISSN-e 1972-523X, Nº 23 (settembre-dicembre), 2006 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Made in Italy: consumi e identità collettive nel secondo dopoguerra), págs. 13-26
• Idioma: italiano
• Títulos paralelos:
  • Espresso. Modernity and Tradition in the world of Italian Coffee
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• Resumen

  • The Italian coffee bar is today seen as a symbol of the ‘traditional’ lifestyle of the country, a rallying point against the Americanisation of daily life. Yet Italian espresso is a twentieth century product whose role as a mass consumer good only began in the 1950s. This article traces both the technical evolution of espresso via the improvement of the coffee machine, and the creation of a new culture of consumption with its own set of conventions. The various agents within the coffee business are considered – machine makers, coffee roasters and bar proprietors – as are the contests between them. The article shows how espresso has acquired a ‘history’ that has become an essential part of its identity.