L'Anatra Pipes

L'Anatra pipes are carved by Massimo Palazzi and Andrea Pascucci in one of the great centers of Italian pipe making, Pesaro, in Northern Italy. The influence of the great Pesaro pipe makers is clearly visible in their work, and yet L'Anatra has a style very much unto their own: their pipes, though certainly elegantly neoclassical, are more playful. This playfulness is, perhaps, most concretely visible in their stem nomenclature and grading as their pipes feature a cast silver duck head on the stem. L'Anatra pipes, though only recently introduced into the United States, are growing in popularity. The exceptional quality is more typical of pipes twice the price. Simply, L'Anatra pipes exhibit all of the superb characteristics of the finest Italian makers, but without the hefty price tag. Their shapes are either modified Italian classics, or unique freehand that are stylistically their own. Most of the pipes are smooth with sanded chambers, though they sometimes sandblast and rusticate either the entire pipe, or small portions. Very rarely do they use cumberland rod for stems, since the Italian preference is for black acrylic (which they turn in one piece, including the tenon). Silver is the most-often used accent as either a ring or intricately wrapped band, though most pipes are simply a marriage of briar and bit.