Filippo Giovanni De Cecco (or Di Cecco, as he was known at the registry office) was born in Fara San Martino (CH) on 8th April 1854 to Nicola, a miller, and Annantonia Salvitti.

After finishing secondary school, he joined his father in the management of the communal mill, immediately starting to introduce small innovations to increase production and the quality of work.

Although initially everything remained confined to the Chieti area, De Cecco was not long in realising the great potential of this sector, and he himself developed methods and machinery that enabled better preservation of the pasta produced in the newly founded ‘Pastificio De Cecco’ (1896).

He bought the mill that his family was running and expanded the factory, setting up a facility for artificial hot-air drying of pasta, using a machine that would be patented in 1889.

This invention allowed him to progressively expand the market, also participating in national and international fairs: L’Aquila (1888), Palermo (1892), Monaco, Rome, Chicago (1893), San Francisco (1894), Antwerp (1895), Hamburg (1898) and many others.

This resulted in a surge in sales, thanks also to exports to the United States – started in 1904 – where the Italian migrant community overseas represented a solid base for the pasta factory’s market.

Only the First World War was able to hinder its international expansion and production. However, once the conflict was over, activity resumed with such momentum that in 1920, a second location was opened in Pescara, a young city in the midst of economic and commercial development.

After the many successes, the final handover was made in 1924 between the founder, who was appointed president for life of the company, and his sons, who became its managing directors.

Filippo De Cecco died in Fara San Martino on 27th July 1930.

After his death, the company continued to grow, alternating moments of prosperity with others of crisis. However, even in the most difficult times, the De Cecco factory remained a point of reference for pasta production nationwide and beyond. In the years that followed, the pasta factory expanded and modernised, with a spirit that was always ready to meet the challenges of the global market, but without ever forgetting the link with its origins and traditions.

You can consult birth and death certificates on the Ancestors Portal, respectively: Archivio di Stato di Chieti, Stato civile della restaurazione, Fara San Martino, 1854 and Archivio di Stato di Chieti, Stato civile italiano, Fara San Martino, 1930

The originals are kept at the State Archive of Chieti