In the most heart-warming news about cremation you’ll hear all week, Renato Bialetti, the Italian heir to the coffee fortune and Moka pot empire, passed away at 93. And to honour his life’s work, his children followed his wishes for his ashes to be stored his ashes in an urn made of a giant Moka coffee maker.
The coffee magnate’s ashes were placed in the urn on February 16th. The urn’s design is based on that of Bialetti’s father Alfonso, who is credited with inventing the two-tier coffee brewer found in millions of kitchens around the world. Renato Bialetti, while not the percolator's creator, is widely considered to have been the brains behind the marketing campaign that turned it into a kitchen staple for coffee drinkers around the world.
The priest wafts incense in front of a Moka pot containing the ashes of Renato Bialetti, during his burial service in the church of Casale Corte Cerro, Northern Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016 [AP Photo/Danilo Donadio]
The iconic design of the Moka pot has remained unchanged for seven decades and more than 300m units have been sold.
An example of style seamlessly integrating with function, the Moka pot has been displayed in many industrial art and design, including New York’s MoMA and the London’s Science Museum.
