Rossi Mezzanotte 8803 Rusticated Lumberman Briar Pipe, New, 6mm

In 1886, Fernando Rossi founded the Fabbrica di Pipe di Radica Rossi, a pipe manufacturing company based in Varese, Italy. It was a pioneering enterprise in Italian pipes, and in the decades that followed Rossi became a major player in the production of high-quality smoking instruments. As such, Rossi was a formidable competitor to another of Italy’s most established pipe companies, that of Achille Savinelli. The Savinellis and the Rossis were, however, good friends, and when the Rossi experienced insurmountable financial difficulties in the 1980s, the company was purchased outright by Savinelli. Savinelli has overseen the production of Rossi pipes ever since, keeping the latter’s name going out of respect for their most amicable rival. Taking its name from the Italian for “Midnight,” the Mezzanotte is one of Rossi’s most reserved designs, in a catalog that is already distinguished by simple, understated, and eminently traditional aesthetics. Dressed in a near-black rusticated finish and fitted with a jet-black acrylic mouthpiece, it calls to mind the kinds of pipes that were first made popular in Italy around the midcentury and remain popular to this day. This pipe is chambered to accommodate 6mm filters, such as Savinelli’s balsa filters, but will also perform perfectly well without one.   Details: Length: 6.2″ / 157.4mm Bowl Width: 0.81 / 20.57mm Bowl Depth: 1.72″ / 43.68mm Weight: 1.3oz / 38g