The 50s When it all began
It was back in 1949 when Italo Zoffoli started his artisanal business in the center of Rimini.
In his workshop, he turned furniture legs and bed knobs and, carried by his great passion for geography and antique maps, he would build globes in his spare time, carving them by hand and having them painted in watercolor by his daughters and some nuns in the hills of Rimini.
1960s The Golden Lathe and international success
The beauty of Italo Zoffoli’s globes, finely handcrafted, did not go unnoticed; quite the contrary. Riding the wave of this appreciation, it was between the 1950s and 1960s that Italo had an original and—as history has shown us—absolutely winning idea: in his Rimini workshop, in those years, the first globe bars were born, which in 1963 earned this imaginative artisan the coveted 'Golden Lathe' award, presented to him by the Museum of Science and Technology in Milan.
Thus began the national and, above all, international success of the Zoffoli brand, which started exporting its globes first to France and Germany, and then overseas, conquering the United States market as well.
90s Confirmations and new designs
Between the seventies and eighties, Zoffoli globes managed to penetrate the most diverse markets, making their way everywhere in the world.
To satisfy the growing demand for manufactured products, production was gradually modernized, so as to create the famous furnishing items more quickly, while maintaining the quality that has always distinguished them.
In the nineties, production was enriched with the first designer globes, objects of absolute impact and great charm that, thanks to the uniqueness of the materials used, adapt perfectly even to the most modern environments.
2000s The arrival on the web
Zoffoli globes can now be found truly everywhere.
Strolling down Madison Avenue in New York, you can see them in the luxurious windows of Barney’s, just as you can purchase them in the most exclusive shops in London; they have also appeared on the sets of productions like “Inglourious Basterds,” “Django Unchained,” and so on.
To satisfy customers all over the world, at any time, the fascinating Zoffoli globes have also arrived online, with a popular e-commerce site that, once again—nearly seventy years later—confirms the genius of Italo Zoffoli.
