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Il Ceppo Italian pipes have been around for over 30 years. The brand was founded by Giorgio Imperatori, an architect by trade, who always had a passion for tobacco pipes. He brought his design background to pipe making in 1978 when he began Il Ceppo. The brand quickly became known for their high quality pipes at an exceptional value. In 1995 the company changed hands. Franco Rossi is the current owner and carver of Il Ceppo and makes all of the pipes along with his sister Nadia. All Il Ceppo pipes are handmade in Pesaro, Italy. They are considered part of the Pesaro School of Pipe Design along with Mastro de Pajo and Ser Jacopo. All three of these brands have a certain...

Morta, or Bog Oak, is a semi-petrified wood that is thousands of years old. Morta is only found in a few places in the world. The quality of Morta needed to make a tobacco pipe is rare, much harder to find than briar or meerschaum. The wood comes from ancient oak trees that have been submerged in swamps or bogs. Over the years the minerals in the water replace the tannins, sap, and other soft parts of the wood. What is left is essentially part wood and part stone. Recovery of the Oak logs is very difficult. The murky waters that it is found in offers very low visibility to the divers. Processing the wood once it is pulled from the water is an exacting...