Since the Middle Ages, Italians have played a key role in creating innovations that have significantly influenced the way we live.
Beyond its renowned cuisine and fashion industry, widely known throughout the world, Italy has also had a direct impact on areas such as communication, music, entertainment, beverages, and the economy.
From the invention of the first electric telephone to the founding of the first bank, Italian innovations play an important role in our society.
Discover the main Italian inventions
1 – Diatonic accordion
1876: When repairing his small organ, Mariano Dallapè takes advantage and makes some improvements: the diatonic accordion is born. Its versatility has made it a beloved instrument around the world.
2 – Baccarat
1490: The game of baccarat, originating in Italy (baccara) and popularized in France, it is still one of the most popular card games in casinos. It has brought entertainment and excitement to many around the world.
3 – Bacillus icteroides
1896: Bacteriologist Giuseppe Sanarelli isolates the Bacillus icteroides of patients infected with yellow fever.
4 – Baci
1922: One of the most famous chocolates in the world, created, by chance, to recycle the remains of other products in the Perugina. At first it was called Punch (because of the way it resembles a closed fist), but the name change brought luck to Baci and its creator, Luisa Spagnoli (one of the founders of Perugina).
5 – Bank
1397: Giovanni di Bicci de Medici (1386-1429) founded the Medici family bank, the first bank was founded in Florence, which eventually had 20 banks spread across Europe. However, the best-known bank in Velha Bota is the Monte dei Paschi di Siena, which first opened in 1472 and is the oldest operating bank in the world.
6 – Hot tub
1956: Candido Jacuzzi (an engineer emigrated to the USA) designs a hydrotherapy system for his son, who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, from which the hot tub will be born.
7 – Espresso coffee
1884: Angelo Moriondo, a hotel owner in Turin, invents the espresso machine, making the process of making coffee faster and more convenient.
8 – Rechargeable (SIM) card
1996: Telecom Italia Mobile (today, TIM) was the one who introduced the concept of a rechargeable card: his Tim Card gave the possibility of making a certain number of calls in exchange for a prepaid amount. It was goodbye, or almost, to telephone bills and the boom in cell phones.
9 – Automatic telephone exchange
1886: Giovanni Battista Marzi installs the first automatic telephone exchange in the Vatican (he controlled ten numbers).
10 – Cinemabox
1959: Pietro Granello presents Cinebox, a jukebox with a screen that also shows music videos.
11 – Cinematograph
1894: Filoteo Alberini launches the kinetograph, precursor of cinema.
12 – Ice cream cone
1903: An Italian ice cream maker, emigrated to New York, Italo Marchioni, serves ice cream in a ice cream cone. waffle.
13 – Disinfection
1866: Enrico Bottini introduces the disinfection of wounds and surgical irons with a solution of phenic acid.
14 – Mediterranean diet
1930: The discovery of the Mediterranean diet by Franco Piroddi highlighted the benefits of a healthy diet, based on fresh produce, olive oil and an active lifestyle. This diet is still considered one of the healthiest in the world.
15 – Sphygmomanometer
1896: A sphygmomanometer, a device for measuring blood pressure, was invented by the Piedmontese doctor Scipione Riva Rocci, who never wanted to patent it and renounced any offer of commercial exploitation.
16 – Shooting stars
1867: Astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli understands the origin of shooting stars.
17 – Futurism
1909: Filippo Tommaso Marinetti founds Futurism, the movement that rejected moralism and the past, and his works drew heavily on the speed and technological developments of the late 19th century.
18 – Umbrella with automatic opening
1885: Piedmontese Giovanni Gilardini patents an umbrella with automatic opening.
19 – Helicopter
1930: The first helicopter flies for 8 minutes and 45 seconds, it is Corradino D'Ascanio's DAT3.
20 – HyperSearch
1997: Massimo Marchiori creates the HyperSearch, the search engine from which Google will be born.
21 – Typewriter
1935: Gino Modigliani, for Olivetti, designs a typewriter that makes text visible as it is written.
22 – Bike ride
1935: Tullio Campagnolo invents the modern bicycle gear, which does not require the cyclist to stop.
23 – Microchip
1971: Vincentian engineer Federico Faggin invented the microchip, for the American company Intel, this miniaturized electronic component that to this day is the “brain” of the computer.
24 – Moka
1933: A mocha was invented by Alfonso Bialetti. The device, made of aluminum and bakelite, was named after the Yemeni city of Mokha, where a type of coffee was produced.
25 – Neorealism
Early 40s: Thanks to De Sica and Rossellini, Neorealism was born, which would influence all world cinema.
26 – Nutella
1964: In Ferrero establishments, in Alba, Nutella, cocoa cream and hazelnuts take shape.
27 – Crosswords
1890: Crosswords (without black squares) were created by Lecchese journalist Giuseppe Airoldi.
28 – Pantelegraph
1861: Abbot Giovanni Caselli invents the pantelegraph, precursor to the fax machine.
29 – Personal computer
1962: Olivetti launches the P101, a calculator with printer. Named Perottina, in honor of designer Pier Giorgio Perotto, it is considered the first personal computer.
30 – Piano
1700: the Italian Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1731) exchanged the harpsichord's feathers for hammers and shock absorbers, giving rise to the “gravicembalo with piano and forte” (harpsichord with piano and forte, in Portuguese) — an instrument considered the grandfather of modern pianos.
31 – Margherita pizza
1889: The margherita pizza was created, according to a reconstruction with a certain dose of legend, by a Neapolitan pizzaiolo who wanted to celebrate, using the three colors of the Italian flag through basil, mozzarella and tomato, the arrival of Queen Margherita of Savoy in Naples .
32 – Ready-to-wear
1958: Ready-to-wear is born, clothes created in standard sizes. The idea is from Florentine designer Emilio Pucci.
33 – Radio
1895: Guglielmo Marconi sounds a bell by pressing a remote transmitter. Radio is born.
34 – Highway
1924: The first section of Milan-Varese (today A8), the first highway in the world, was opened.
35 – Lifeguard and stenography
1878: Benvenuto D'Alessandro invents an inflatable bag to be used as a life preserver; Antonio Michela Zucco patents a two-part keyboard for stenography.
36 – Automatic ice cream maker
1944: The first automatic ice cream maker was launched by Bruno Carpigiani.
37 - Telephone
1871: The invention was, for decades, attributed to Alexander Bell. But the innovation, also according to the US Supreme Court, is the responsibility of Antonio Meucci who, in 1871, had filed a temporary patent for the teletrophone, a precursor device to the telephone.
38 – Teletypograph
1909: The ecclesiastic Luigi Cerebotani launches the teletypograph, a typewriter connected to a telegraph.
39 – Hand transplant
1998: In Lyon, surgeon Marco Lanzetta is part of the medical team that performed the first hand transplant.
40 – Vespa
1946: Designing the scooter was the engineer from Abruzzo Corradino D'Ascanio. Thanks to its original design, great maneuverability and innovative guiding position, the Wasp It was a global success.
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