The story of the most famous hat
In Alessandria, in 1857, the hatter Giuseppe Borsalino, after training in Paris, opened a small workshop for the production of felt hats, which in a few decades became one of the most famous hat factories in the world. At the beginning of the twentieth century the company employed thousands of workers and produced millions of hats a year, exported to every continent, and the name Borsalino became synonymous with the elegant men's felt hat, the fedora with a pinched crown and soft brim.
The hat was worn by stars of cinema and history: Humphrey Bogart in "Casablanca", Federico Fellini, Marcello Mastroianni, and gangsters of American films; in 1970 a famous French film with Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo even took the title "Borsalino". The Museo del Cappello Borsalino, opened in 2006 in the historic headquarters of the company, designed by the architect Arnaldo Gardella and now part of the University of Eastern Piedmont, displays in the original walnut display cases of the old showroom about 2,000 hats, from the classic fedoras to the bowler hats, top hats, women's hats and military caps, together with the tools, moulds and machines used for production, telling the story of the complex process of transforming rabbit fur into felt. The company is still active today.
Tip: the museum is in the city centre, in Corso Cento Cannoni; combine the visit with a walk to the Cittadella across the Tanaro.
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