Root

Radice is one of the oldest artisans still working today. He began working for Castello in 1960, where he learned the trade and acquired the art of pipe craftsmanship. In 1968, he founded Caminetto with Peppino Ascorti, which, thanks to the growing interest in handcrafted pipes, achieved considerable success in the major world markets. In 1979, he decided to open his own workshop and, although the beginning was difficult, he managed to establish himself on the market thanks to his skilled craftsmanship. Two features that have contributed to his success are the twisted stem and the faux bamboo stem. The latter, in particular, is made with such incredible realism that many smokers confuse it with natural bamboo. In the early 1980s, Luigi's sons, Marzio and Gianluca, also joined the workshop, quickly demonstrating their ability to create pipes with a more youthful look. This led to the introduction of multicoloured wood inserts and the highest quality ebonite mouthpieces on some models. But the biggest innovation was a new pipe, which Radice was the first to produce in Italy: the Aero Calabash Reverse. Essentially, this is a pipe that reproduces the benefits of the classic Calabash, with a cool, dry smoke, in a compact briar pipe. The pipe, which at first glance appears squat and "ungainly", happily wins the hearts of smokers with its unconventional design: the more you look at it, the more beautiful it seems. The smoke is incredible, dry and fresh, even though the pipe is very short. It has been extraordinarily successful and has been copied by almost all Italian and foreign craftsmen. The briar used is almost always from Liguria and is worked to create pipes with different finishes. The Rind pipes are rusticated, the Silk Cut pipes are sandblasted and the Underwood pipes are carved to resemble the dripping wax of a candle. The smooth pipes come in various colours, but the most prized among these are the Clear pipes, with a beautiful hazelnut colour embellished with more or less dense flaming. Today, Radice is a major player in the Italian pipe-making industry.