Termica Express - Coffee pot - La Signora - Aluminium - thermal coffee maker

TERMICA EXPRESS – “LA SIGNORA”
Meazza & Masciadri – Casale Corte Cerro (VB), Italy
Thermal-pressure coffee maker with steam – Italian design, 1960s
Elegant and particularly interesting testimony of Italian industrial design in the postwar era, the Termica Express, known to collectors also as “La Signora,” is a coffee maker designed and produced by Meazza & Masciadri Foundries of Casale Corte Cerro, in the territory of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola.
The model dates from the late 1950s to the early 1960s, a period in which the design of Italian domestic objects began to more closely combine functionality, technical innovation, and formal research. Specialist sources place the Termica Express mainly in the 1960s, while there are later testimonies and variants also attributable to the 1970s.
A PARTICULARLY INNOVATIVE TECHNICAL IDEA
The feature that makes this coffee maker immediately recognizable is its distinctive “moka + thermos” configuration.
The Termica Express is in fact made up of two distinct elements:
- the lower part, which contains the water and the filter and works according to the traditional steam-pressure principle;
- the upper part, conceived as a true thermal chamber/thermos, intended to collect the freshly extracted coffee and keep it hot.
This solution thus allowed not only to prepare the coffee but also to keep it warm and transport it, solving a practical need with a single domestic appliance.
The locking system also shows a technical evolution: in the first specimens a cork stopper is documented, while in the subsequent versions a system with expandable rubber gasket, operated by rotation, was adopted, designed to achieve an airtight closure.
MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION
The construction well represents the material culture of Italian design of the era.
The body of the coffee maker is mainly made of aluminum, a material widely used in Italian domestic production of the period for its lightness, resistance, and good thermal conductivity.
The parts intended for gripping are made of Bakelite/thermosetting plastic, generally black, a material characteristic of domestic objects and appliances of the period. Collecting sources specifically identify the aluminum and Bakelite combination for the Termica Express.
The upper thermal structure constitutes the most original design element of the whole object and gives the coffee maker its distinctive slender and almost sculptural appearance.
“LA SIGNORA”: AN ICON OF ITALIAN CAFFETTERIA
The nickname “La Signora” derives from the soft, rounded, sinuous shapes of the model, highly representative of the Italian domestic aesthetic of the 1960s.
It also features the characteristic logo of Signora, identifying the maker.
The Termica Express thus does not merely belong to the category of old coffee makers: it represents an interesting example of Italian modern design, in which a everyday object becomes an expression of design research and technical innovation.
CAPACITY AND DISTRIBUTION
Available documentation testifies to the existence of several capacities, including a smaller version of about 4–5 cups and a larger version of 9 cups.
Reliable data on the total run of the model are not currently available; therefore an arbitrary number of units produced is not indicated.
The Termica Express remains today a well-recognizable object within the field of collecting Italian historical coffee makers, and continues to appear on the international market of mid-century modern design and in specialized auctions. The presence of original specimens in Catawiki auctions and in catalogs dedicated to coffee maker collecting confirms its appeal to enthusiasts of Italian design culture and material culture.
COLLECTOR INTEREST
The value of this model lies especially in the combination of:
• historical Italian production
• Meazza & Masciadri craftsmanship
• industrial design of the 1960s
• distinctive moka/thermos system
• use of aluminum and Bakelite
• immediately recognizable shape
• production in multiple capacities
• interest in vintage coffee maker collecting
The Termica Express thus sits perfectly within the panorama of Italian mid-century modern design, particularly interesting for those who collect historical coffee makers, design objects, Italian kitchenware, and testimonies of postwar domestic industrial production.
A piece with strong vintage character, but above all an object in which function becomes design: a simple and ingenious design solution that anticipates the contemporary concept of multifunctional product.
Production: Italy
Manufacturer: Meazza & Masciadri
Place of production: Casale Corte Cerro (VB), Piedmont
Model: Termica Express / “La Signora”
Period: mainly the 1960s, with later variants in the 1970s
Operation: steam pressure, flame
Materials: aluminum, Bakelite/plastic, components with rubber gasket in later versions
Documented capacities: about 4–5 and 9 cups
Category: Italian mid-century modern design / Industrial design / Coffee maker collecting