Isaia Levi, Cesare Verona senior, Giovanni Enriques, Franco Verona, Cesare Verona junior: these are the names of the entrepreneurs who, in succession, marked the birth, development, crisis and rebirth of Aurora Manufactory, the Italian “queen” of fountain pen manufacturing companies.
Isaia Levi is the great entrepreneur from Turin who founded the company in 1919:
Turin, 1919. “Mr. Levi, I propose a fantastic deal: why don’t you also make fountain pens in Turin?” An enterprising young accountant looks straight into the eyes of a well-known textile industrialist from Turin, Isaia Levi. The entrepreneur is intrigued by the proposal of the young man in front of him. If Turin is known for being the birthplace of the Kingdom and if it is known for its pastry shops, chocolate, automotive and textile industries, could it not become the “capital” of the fountain pen? A few days later the adventure begins: “Good morning, I have to register a new company” The official of the Chamber of Commerce raises his eyes from the cards and clutches his lips as a sign of consideration: “Company name?” “Italian factory of Aurora tank pens”.
Paradoxically, this story intersects with Cesare Verona senior, who in 1889 was the first to import the typewriters of the American company Remington in Italy, in Turin. Its activity starts in Via Carlo Alberto 20, in the heart of Turin, a fifteen minutes walk from the place where the first headquarters of the Aurora Manufactory will be located.
Cesare Verona Sr. is the grandfather of Franco Verona, who from the sixties will mark the success of Aurora thanks to unforgettable creations such as Auretta, Hastil and Thesi and who will begin the tradition of the prestigious limited editions of numbered fountain pens; but he’s also the great-grandfather of Cesare Verona junior, current owner of Aurora, who bears his name and represents the fourth generation of a family deeply involved in the world of writing.
In this “sidereal” crossroads between the history of typewriters and that of Italian fountain pens, there is the whole paradox of a centuries-old story in which also a famous entrepreneur such as Giovanni Enriques, a reference figure for Italian culture in the early post-war period and linked to Aurora for decades, even beyond his role in the company.
“The FIRST hundred years”, emphasizes Cesare Verona junior, current president and CEO of the company, committed to give solidity and strength to a company that is able to withstand the challenge of the digital age “both today and in the medium and long term, and with the goal of reaching at least 200 years of life”. A company that has found in special projects for super-luxury customers and in foreign markets the most suitable ground today to assert itself in global competition. With the sole strength of the design and quality of a nib and of a fountain pen.
The centenary history of Aurora has been told in the book “Questione di Stilo – Il romanzo delle penne Aurora“, written by Cesare Verona junior and Adriano Moraglio (ed. Joints)