Lorenzo

Lorenzo is one of the few names that identify Italian pipes of the 1970s from a distance: thick bowl walls, bulky bodies, a silky matte finish, and paint running from deep red to bright orange. The company behind this look, however, has a history reaching much further back, to the workshop Fratelli Lana, founded in Gallarate in 1900. It is the third house to work briar in the province of Varese, Lombardy, preceded by Rossi (1886) and Ceresa (1897). The brand took on the name it carries today only in 1969.

The Unstamped Years

The workshop, founded by two brothers, worked only the domestic market at first. Its opening to foreign trade began in 1922 with a partnership entered into with the Tagliabue family, merchants from Milan; orders from Europe grew steadily from that point on. The workforce reached 120 in the 1930s, and the business moved from being a workshop to a factory-scale operation in the Italy of the time. Growth did not carry through to the product: for decades what was made were cheap, unassuming pipes aimed at a broad market. Most carried no brand stamp, with only a general inscription such as "Genuine Bruyere" on the bowl. Since most of the output was made for other firms under their own name, the business never developed a shape language of its own. One trace from these years did carry through to later generations: Romolo Aliverti, who joined the firm in 1920 and rose over time to technical director.

The Birth of the Lorenzo Name

The Tagliabue family bought the business outright in 1946, and the name became Manufattura di Pipe Tagliabue. Management passed to Lorenzo Tagliabue shortly before 1950. The rapid rise of postwar brands such as Castello and Brebbia led him to decide to move up from cheap mass production; models of his own design, aimed at a higher tier, followed. The brand took the name Lorenzo in 1969. According to the account, this was because another pipe firm already carried the Tagliabue name.

The new models first drew attention for their size. Wide, sturdy shanks, thick bowl walls, and bases flattened so the pipe could stand on a table are considered the brand's signature; combined with bright paints, the result was a look unlike any other brand of the period. The most popular model was a large Oom Paul, produced in numerous variants. The brand won a wide following through the 1970s and 1980s, especially among younger smokers. The most commonly voiced criticism within the community is how widely bowl flaws were filled with putty.

Lower-tier models were released under separate names:

Sub-brand	Scope
Spitfire	Direct counterparts of Lorenzo shapes plus smaller, classic models; most with a 9 mm filter socket
Lloyd's	Lorenzo's second-quality line

The Aliverti Generations

Lorenzo Tagliabue stepped away from running the business in 1983 and left behind no heir to carry it on; he died in 1987. Records indicate the brand was meanwhile kept alive briefly under a Comoy's of London license, then largely vanished from the market. In 1988, Romolo Aliverti's son Riccardo Aliverti and his wife Gabriella took over the brand rights from the Tagliabue family and restarted production. Riccardo had learned the trade in 1954, at fourteen, working alongside his father, and took over the role of technical director from him in 1973. Third-generation Massimo Aliverti has run the sales side since 1991.

Today Lorenzo is above all a brand name. Records indicate that while the upper series continue to be made in Italy, the lower-tier lines are contracted out to Albania to take advantage of briar sources there.