The myth of Italian Coachbuilders: Castagna

Roarington's journey exploring significant Italian coachbuilders stops today in Milan, taking us back over a century: In 1849, Carlo Castagna took over the prestigious Milanese workshop Ferrari, known for making carriages for royal and aristocratic families across Europe. This led to an early entry into the burgeoning automobile industry: The company's reputation for using exquisite materials and quality finishes led Italian importers of Benz quadricycles to contact Castagna for the creation of motorized carriages.

This was a unique opportunity that increased the prestige of this "coachbuilder" by crafting custom motor vehicles for wealthy clients. Royal commissions also came in, including from Queen Margherita of Savoy with her double phaeton on a Fiat 24-32 HP chassis and later, in 1913, from Count Ricotti with the famous Alfa 40-60 HP featuring an aviation-inspired body, marking the first monovolume in history.

The famous 1913 Alfa 40-60 HP Aerodynamica by Count Ricotti created by Carrozzeria Castagna.

In 1914, Carrozzeria Castagna lost its founder Carlo, who was succeeded by his son Ercole. Using the cutting-edge technology of the time, he expanded into new markets: The sophisticated galvanic chromium plating department led the company into the furniture sector and it went on to craft luxury railway carriages for the Orient Express. This consolidated Carrozzeria Castagna's reputation, garnering commissions from the most prestigious Italian and foreign brands of the time such as Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Hispano-Suiza, Duesenberg and Isotta Fraschini. The latter expansion allowed the company to branch into the United States.

Isotta Fraschini is just one of the many Italian and international brands that Castagna collaborated with in the 1930s. On this picture you can see a splendid and luxurious 8A from 1928.

The 1930s saw Castagna excel as a synonym for style, exclusivity and quality. Prompting magnates from every corner of the world to desire to travel in a vehicle from this Milanese coachbuilder. Innovation was Ercole's goal: In 1939, he acquired the patent for the pillarless windshield named Vistotal and around the same time the aerodynamic research with German engineer Bergmann began, setting up a dedicated department within the company. The outbreak of the Second World War dealt a severe blow to Carrozzeria Castagna: The factory was bombed and severely damaged in 1942.

The 1933 Lancia Astura Serie 2 Castagna continues to impress, winning the Gold Cup at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este in 2016.

After the war, Ercole Castagna decided to start over with the help of his children, challenging himself by hiring former Touring designer Giuseppe Seregni. Everything had changed and the style modernized: A Fiat 1100 Vistotal won the first prize at the Concorso d'Eleganza of Rome in 1948 and the following year an Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Coupé Castagna secured another first-place finish, also in Rome. But the changes were too significant: Luxury brands began to disappear with the first blow being the closure of Isotta Fraschini Automobili due to the collapse of the American market. In Europe the situation was no different: It also lost the Bianchi client and Alfa began producing monocoque vehicles, a far cry from the original luxury “motor carriages”.

The 1950 Fiat 1100 E Cabriolet from the Nicolis Museum is equipped with the elegant pillarless Vistotal windshield.

In 1954, the coachbuilder closed its doors, but the Castagna name and reputation remained alive. In 1994, businessman Uberto Petra and Italian automotive designer Gioacchino Acampora acquired the name Carrozzeria Castagna. The idea was to make luxurious cars of every category into status symbols: Luxuriously finished MINIs and Fiat 500s as well as custom models have made Castagna a brand that perfectly interprets the now-popular concept of customization and one-offs. It's beautiful to see how history can help contemporarily repropose tradition.

Castagna's story remains alive today with reinterpretations of modern vehicles like the Fiat 500.