“Manifatture Sigaro Toscano 1818” joins the Italian Historic Companies Association
Another excellent Italian artisan company becomes part of the Italian Historic Companies Association: Manifatture Sigaro Toscano 1818, a 200 years-old, traditional enterprise, recently mentioned in “Sigari TOSCANO” (“Toscano Cigar, Italian Cigar: 200 Years of the Sigaro Toscano” published by Rizzoli and edited by journalist Enrico Mannucci), which celebrates the history of the cigar and its land of origin.
The ‘legend’ of Tuscan cigars, which went into production on a regular basis in 1818, was born in August 1815 in the Manifattura Tabacchi of Florence, when a batch of tobacco – left to dry in the summer sun – was washed by a violent downpour. With all that tobacco, it was decided to produce cheap cigars to be sold in Florence. It was an immediate, great success. In fact, the water fermented the tobacco, giving it a completely new and particularly appreciated taste.
Female cigar makers were among the first women to be employed with the same rights as men. Their work has remained almost the same for more than 200 years, and it is often inherited from mother to daughter. It takes 18 months of training to become a cigar maker. Only after this period of time, a cigar maker can pack a cigar with her own hands.
For almost one hundred and thirty years, starting from 1818, cigars were produced mainly in Florence. But in the years following the post-war period, the ‘Stortignaccolo’ finally left the Tuscan capital and its production moved to Lucca and Cava de ‘Tirreni.
From around 1853 until June 2004, the main manufacturing facility in Lucca was located in a former convent of Dominican nuns. Since then, production has been transferred to a more functional and modern facility, situated in the industrial area of Lucca, Mugnano.
That of the Toscano cigar is the only entirely Italian tobacco production chain. From sowing to harvesting, from the processing stages to the finished product, Manifattura Sigaro Toscano guarantees qualititative and professional standards in line with the most modern companies in the sector.
“Behind every single Toscano cigar there is always the hand, the look, the skill of the people working in the tobacco production chain – explains Gaetano Maccaferri, president of the Maccaferri industrial group, the holding company controlling Manifatture Sigaro Toscano. – and perhaps the secret of this longevity lies precisely in having been able to combine innovation with respect for a 200 years-old tradition”
