A book that tells the story of Bialetti and the family that founded it

 

An idea, a product, and the ability to develop both. After all, this is how every business begins, and every business story tells of  this ability to turn an idea into something tangible, to turn a dream into reality,  even beyond the people who created it. These stories are worth reading because they provide insight into the hard work and ingenuity involved in setting up and running a production organisation.

This is the case of ‘Un sogno di polvere e acqua.  Storia della famiglia che ha inventato la Moka’ (A dream of powder and water. The story of the family that invented the Moka pot). As the title suggests, the book, co-written by Celestina Bialetti and Alessandro Barbaglia, tells the story of the inventor of the Moka, one of the most iconic objects in the lives of generations of Italians. Just as coffee itself is iconic—and it is no coincidence that one of the book’s presentations took place in July at MUMAC, the Coffee Machine Museum set up by the Cimbali Group.

The book traces the factory’s history from its origins right up to the present day, recounting events that run parallel to the lives of two men who perhaps have nothing in common other than the fact that they are father and son. First is Alfonso, the founder and the man who invented this revolutionary little machine that makes coffee in just a few minutes.  A cautious dreamer, he put his brilliant intuition into practice with his own skilled hands in the 1930s. The second is Renato, his son, who is the complete opposite:  ambitious, unscrupulous, and endowed with unrivalled entrepreneurial foresight.  It is thanks to Renato that the Moka, originally built in a small workshop by Alfonso, became an essential item in every home,  and it is to his credit that the Bialetti ‘moustache’ logo became a brand recognised even by children. Alfonso and Renato were different, yet indispensable to one another. Keeping their precarious balance in check, as Celestina Bialetti puts it, are the women of the family: Ada, Alfonso’s wife, who has a natural talent for sorting out trouble, and Celestina (Tina), the youngest of the Bialettis, who has now, together with Alessandro Barbaglia, chronicled the company’s history.

From its origins to the present day, the ever present Moka has witnessed not only family and business events, but also the evolution of our society. ‘Un sogno di polvere e acqua’ is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding how a business is created and the important role of the people who bring it to life.

Un sogno di polvere e acqua. Storia della famiglia che ha inventato la Moka

Celestina Bialetti with Alessandro Barbaglia

Mondadori, 2026