Historic Tuscan coffee machine maker La Marzocco -- used by Starbucks in its original locations in Seattle -- is preparing to celebrate 90 years in business with turnover at record levels and plans to turn its former headquarters near Florence into a €5 million museum and “coffee academy.” 

The company was founded by brothers Giuseppe and Bruno Bambi in Scarperia, north east of Florence in the Mugello area of Tuscany. It was then led by Piero Bambi, who is now 83 and still in the firm. Since the 1990s it has been in the hands of a group of US manager-investors.