How Italy will be a part of the World Cup final

By Paolo Vezzoli

December 4, 2022

The World Cup after it is finished being made.Credit:Sydney Morning Herald

The Italian national team is absent for a second consecutive FIFA World Cup for the first time, having missed out on qualification for Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 in dramatic play-off games.

Despite the footballing heartbreak, Italy will still be at the World Cup final. After all, the trophy is made in Milan.

In Paderno Dugnano, a small town in Milan’s metropolitan area, there is a pink-walled factory that looks like many other industrial sites. In such an apparently anonymous place, glory comes to life.

Engraving accessories and tools in a workshop drawer.Credit:Paolo Vezzoli

GDE Bertoni is a world leader in designing and manufacturing cups, medals and trophies, in a mix of know-how, industry and art.

Inheriting the business of his father-in-law, Eugenio Losa established Bertoni in 1938 in a workshop in Milan’s city centre. The company has grown and changed headquarters, but not its artisanal philosophy.

FIFA medal molds, samples and mechanic accessories from decades of works stored on metal shelves at the GDE Bertoni headquarters.Credit:Paolo Vezzoli

Upon entering the firm’s bright conference room, your eyes take in some of the most beautiful and celebrated products GDE Bertoni has made over the decades.

In addition to making medals for the 1960 Rome and 1980 Moscow Olympic Games, the company is the historical manufacturer of the Olympic Order, FINA and FIVB Medals, Qatar Emir Cup, Arabian Gulf Cup, African Cup of Nations, and the trophies for the African Nations Championship, UEFA European Championships, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Supercup and UEFA Champions League.

Once out of the foundry, the brass body of the cup has to be chiselled by die grinders to remove metal in excess.Credit:Paolo Vezzoli

The following phase is that of mechanical brushing.Credit:Paolo Vezzoli

The football trophies stand close together in the conference room and one stands out – the FIFA World Cup.

Following the first step, manual chiselling with hammer and chisels refines and completes artistic details.Credit:Paolo Vezzoli

The trophy was designed in 1970 by artist Silvio Gazzaniga: 36.8 centimetres of golden brilliance with two stripes of green malachite at its base.

Ultrasonic degreasing bath for the highest level cleaning.Credit:Paolo Vezzoli

That was the year Brazil won the original trophy, the Jules Rimet Cup, for the third time, a feat which meant the trophy went to the Selecao for ever. Another trophy had to be created for the 1974 World Cup in West Germany.

The cup reaches the galvanic department, where it first deals with the ultrasonic degreasing bath.Credit:Paolo Vezzoli

To choose the new one, FIFA announced a competition where 53 different works from around the world were exhibited, and the Milanese sculptor’s proposal was chosen.

As described by Gazzaniga himself, the cup represents the joy and the greatness of the athlete at the moment of victory; two stylised athletes cheering, holding up the whole world.

The world cup during a phase of drying, seen through the eyepiece lens for engraving.Credit:Paolo Vezzoli

The original gold World Cup is the property of FIFA and exhibited rarely only on official occasions. Every four years GDE Bertoni provides an identical brass-body copy which is presented to the winning football federation.

From the plaster cast in the foundry and back again to the factory, the raw cup is progressively refined by both mechanical action (die grinding, brushing and later polishing) and manual work (chiselling and welding), before ultrasonic degreasing, rinsing and – most importantly – gilding.

The World Cup, finally completed with its base of malachite green marble, is covered with Zapon varnish to ensure an impeccable brilliance and preservation.Credit:Paolo Vezzoli

The now shining gold World Cup is carefully washed and dried, before being mounted to the marble base and a final coating of protective varnish. The cup is ready to start its journey after being cleaned and checked one last time.