On January 14th, we celebrated a great occasion within the La Marzocco family, as we congratulated Piero Bambi on his 79th birthday. What a milestone!
Piero is the son of Giuseppi Bambi, who, along with Piero’s uncle Bruno, started La Marzocco in 1927. Piero has spent much of his life carrying on his father and his uncle’s legacy of building the finest quality espresso machines. Piero has had a hand in the design of every La Marzocco espresso machine that is currently in production. If you ever visit the La Marzocco factory in Scarperia, just outside of Florence, Italy, you’ll find that Piero still goes into work every day, and is still actively participates in design and engineering projects and meetings.”
With a lineup of espresso machines that includes Linea, GB/5, FB/80, GS/3, and Strada models, we often get questions from our customers and the people who use our equipment about what the names mean.
Our machines are generally named for members of the Bambi family – our founders and our heritage; for important milestones in our history; or for new technological advancements introduced by La Marzocco.
FB Series
In 1997, La Marzocco celebrated its 70th anniversary. In honor of the occasion, La Marzocco introduced an alternate body style that could be installed on the Linea – the only La Marzocco espresso machine that was in production at the time. This special body style was made of resin, and was offered in custom colors of the customer’s choice. To honor the Bambi family, the machine was named the FB/70, or Fratelli Bambi 70 (The brothers Bambi).
The FB/80 is named for the 80th anniversary of La Marzocco. It was designed, built, and released just ahead of the anniversary. Like the FB/70, it features a curvy resin body style that is available in custom colors. The features of the FB/80 are the same as those found in the GB/5.
GB/5
The GB/5 was designed primarily by Piero Bambi, and was released in 2005. The GB/5 features a number of technologies that come together to provide superior temperature stability and control. In 2005, as the time came to release the machine, Piero chose to name it for his wife, Giovanna Bambi. Thus, the name was GB and 5 for 2005, the year it was introduced.
GS/3
The design of the La Marzocco GS/3, introduced in 2007, draws inspiration from the iconic GS series of commercial espresso machines that were in production 1970-1991. The La Marzocco GS was the first dual-boiler espresso machine, and featured saturated groups (“GS” stands for “gruppo saturo”).
Today, the GS series remains iconic for its low profile, classic styling, and as the source of the original paddle group. The styling has endured and is a symbol of what makes La Marzocco so classic. The body style of the GS/3 is reminiscent of the GS series, however, it occupies a smaller footprint, intended for the home or for light commercial uses.
Each La Marzocco espresso machine is named to recognize or pay tribute to our past, our family, and our traditions. We look forward to sharing more as we introduce new products in the future!
