Largest Collection of Espresso Machines, world record in Binasco, Italy

July 15, 2025

Binasco, Italy--The MUMAC (short for Museo della Macchina per Caffe, or "Museum of the Coffee Machine"), was founded in 2012 to promote coffee knowledge, culture and enjoyment among professionals and enthusiasts; home to 300 pieces from the Cimbali and Maltoni collections, of which over 100 are on display, MUMAC is the world’s largest contemporary museum of professional coffee machines, according to the WORLD RECORD ACADEMY.

"In a gracefully curved and strikingly red building in Binasco, about 12 miles southwest of Milan, sits a collection of contraptions that no coffee lover— especially those of the espresso variety—should miss. This is the MUMAC (short for Museo della Macchina per Caffe, or "Museum of the Coffee Machine"), home to one of the most comprehensive collections of coffee machines in the world," the Atlas Obscura reports.

"Inside the museum are hundreds of vintage espresso machines, ranging from unique prototypes to industrial successes that were game-changers for baristas across the globe. And it’s not only Cimbali products; you’ll also see machines by companies such as La Marzocco, Kees van der Westen, Elektra, and Vibiemme.

"The museum isn’t only focused on coffee machines: It can also help you get the best from your beans. MUMAC houses an academy in a cutting-edge facility. Here, coffee professionals and enthusiasts come together to experiment with all things related to coffee and coffee machines."

"Commissioned by the Gruppo Cimbali to celebrate its 100th anniversary, the museum is set out in a modern building measuring around 1700m2 at the Binasco production site, a highly prestigious industrial recovery. The main aim of the company, a sectorial leader, is to create a permanent exhibition open to the public, able to offer in-depth information about and insights into the history, culture and design of coffee machines," the Collezione Enrico Maltoni says.

"This coffee machine collection represents and protects the Italian heritage in this sector. Technology and Italian design are, in fact, told through a multimedia pathway, packed with audio-visual stimuli and backed up with a range of historically important documents.

"The story begins at the start of the 20th century, with an Art Nouveau bar set up which was typical of this period and spans the years of the Italian economic boom and development of a new lifestyle, that of going to bars. It covers the design and its explosion with the great creators of the 60s and 70s like the Castiglioni brothers, Sottsass and Giugiaro."

"MUMAC, Gruppo Cimbali’s Coffee Machine Museum, was founded in 2012 to promote coffee knowledge, culture and enjoyment among professionals and enthusiasts," the Museimpresa says.

"Located in the company’s headquarters in Binasco, the museum, which boasts a permanent exhibition, the MUMAC Library and a historical archive, is a space entirely dedicated to the coffee world and to the history of an entire Made in Italy sector.

"Home to 300 pieces from the Cimbali and Maltoni collections, of which over 100 are on display, MUMAC is the world’s largest contemporary museum of professional coffee machines, a place that contains models characterized by unique technological development and design.

"This second room houses such important machines as the La Cimbali Rapida, the first machine produced by Giuseppe Cimbali (the foreman of La Cimbali Group), and La Cornuta, the first machine designed by a designer—Gio Ponti—in 1947," the Barista Magazine Online reports.

The Cornuta, considered the most beautiful coffee machine of all time, had very limited production. Its steam technology was already almost obsolete at the time, when a new lever was introduced to the market. This is probably why only two La Cornuta still exist—one in MUMAC and one hidden in a private collection.

"The third room focuses on the postwar period and Achille Gaggia’s invention of the lever in 1948, first featured in an espresso machine produced by Faema. For the first time there was crema on top of espresso, and many machines bear inscriptions advertising it to make skeptical customers understand this new way of drinking coffee."

"MUMAC Opened to the public in 2012, offers visitors the perfect opportunity to take a long walk through the history of Italian industry. But these are also the steps of a company, Gruppo Cimbali, that has played an important role in this market," the La Cimbali reports.

"Multi-media and multi-sensory, the evocative experience of MUMAC makes it a contemporary exhibition whilst still retaining the accuracy of a historical journey. A journey through different periods, via the six rooms displaying the machines, history, design, technology, and industrial and social development of each age.

"MUMAC is the ideal place for getting to know the history and technology of espresso coffee machines, but also for understanding the coffee culture (thanks to tastings), organizing cultural events, and testing out unique experiences."

"Opened to the public in 2012, MUMAC offers visitors the perfect opportunity to take a long walk through the history of Italian industry. But these are also the steps of a company, Gruppo Cimbali, that has played an important role in this market. Multi-media and multi-sensory, the evocative experience of MUMAC makes it a contemporary exhibition whilst still retaining the accuracy of a historical journey," the faema.com reports.

"A journey through different periods, via the six rooms displaying the machines, history, design, technology, and industrial and social development of each age. MUMAC is the ideal place for getting to know the history and technology of espresso coffee machines, but also for understanding the coffee culture (thanks to tastings), organising cultural events, and testing out unique experiences."

Photos: Facebook/Mumac - Museo della Macchina per Caffè