Vitantonio Manufacturing Company — No. 5 Cast Iron Pizzelle Iron
SSC MUSEUM COLLECTION
Catalog No. SSC-VITA-PIZ-5-001
Vitantonio Mfg. Co. | No. 5 Pizzelle Iron | Willoughby, Ohio
Vitantonio Manufacturing Company • Willoughby, Lake County • Founded 1906
Top view showing the Vitantonio No. 5 pizzelle iron with maker’s mark: “NO. 5 / VITANTONIO MFG CO / WILLOUGHBY, OHIO” cast in raised letters, surrounded by a field of small decorative cast stars. The turned wooden handle and steel rod shaft are original. This stovetop model was designed for use over a gas flame or stove burner.
The pizzelle is one of the oldest cookie forms in Italian baking—a thin, crisp, decoratively patterned waffle cookie traditionally made for holidays, weddings, and family celebrations. The name comes from the Italian word for “round,” and the cookies are pressed between two heated, intricately patterned iron plates that imprint the batter with ornate designs as it bakes. In Italy, the tradition stretches back centuries. In Ohio, it arrived with the wave of Italian immigrants who settled in the Cleveland area in the early 1900s—and one family turned it into a manufacturing legacy.
Angelo Vitantonio founded the Vitantonio Manufacturing Company in 1906 in the Cleveland area, producing cast iron kitchen tools rooted in Italian culinary tradition. The company eventually settled in Willoughby, a small Lake County city about 20 miles northeast of Cleveland, where it would operate for decades. This No. 5 stovetop pizzelle iron—marked “VITANTONIO MFG CO / WILLOUGHBY, OHIO” on its exterior—represents the company’s original product form: a hand-held, two-plate hinged iron designed to be heated over a gas flame or stove burner, with the batter pressed between decorative pattern plates to produce a single pizzelle at a time.
The two interior plates on this iron tell the story of the form’s dual identity. The lower plate carries a traditional Italian four-quadrant pizzelle pattern—scrollwork, floral motifs, and geometric borders arranged in the classic design that has been used in Italian pizzelle irons for generations. The upper plate features a sunburst or radiating spoke pattern with a scalloped border—a complementary design that imprints the opposite face of the cookie. Together, the two plates create a pizzelle that is decorated on both sides. The exterior surfaces of both plates are covered in a field of tiny cast stars—a distinctive Vitantonio decorative touch that also serves a functional purpose, increasing the surface area exposed to the flame for more even heating.
Piece Details
Close-up of the maker’s mark: “NO. 5 / VITANTONIO MFG CO / WILLOUGHBY, OHIO” cast in raised letters. The star field pattern surrounding the text is clearly visible—each star individually cast into the iron surface. This decorative treatment is characteristic of Vitantonio’s stovetop pizzelle iron line.
Open view showing both interior pattern plates. Upper plate: sunburst / radiating spoke design with scalloped border. Lower plate: traditional Italian four-quadrant pizzelle pattern with scroll, floral, and geometric motifs. Batter is placed on the lower plate, the iron is closed, and the assembly is held over a flame. The heat presses and bakes the batter into a thin, crisp, decoratively patterned cookie.
Manufacturer
Vitantonio Manufacturing Company (Willoughby, Ohio)
Piece Type
Cast iron stovetop pizzelle iron / cookie iron
Model
No. 5
Material
Cast iron plates with steel rod shaft and turned wooden handle
Construction
Two-piece hinged round iron with decorative pattern plates on both interior faces; hinge mechanism at top; long steel rod handle terminating in a turned wooden grip; designed for stovetop use over a gas flame or stove eye
Upper Plate Pattern
Sunburst / radiating spoke design with scalloped border
Lower Plate Pattern
Traditional Italian four-quadrant pizzelle pattern with scroll, floral, and geometric motifs
Exterior Surface
Field of small cast stars covering both exterior faces of the iron
Marking
“NO. 5 / VITANTONIO MFG CO / WILLOUGHBY, OHIO” cast in raised letters on exterior of top plate, surrounded by star field pattern
Date of Manufacture
Estimated mid-20th century (pre-electric era of Vitantonio production)
Place of Manufacture
Willoughby, Lake County, Ohio
Condition
Very Good — marking crisp and fully legible; both pattern plates intact with full detail; hinge mechanism functional; original wooden handle intact; star field pattern sharp on both exterior faces; light wear consistent with use
Acquisition Date
November 28, 2025
Acquisition Source
eBay — Seller: ctryf26
eBay Item Number
205836486316
Order Number
04-13903-99089
Purchase Price
$40.00 item - $12.00 discount + $15.00 shipping + $3.64 tax = $46.64 total
SSC Catalog Number
SSC-VITA-PIZ-5-001
Historical Background
The Vitantonio Family: From Italy to Lake County
Angelo Vitantonio came to the United States from Italy in the early 1900s and founded his manufacturing company in 1906, initially operating in the Cleveland area. The company’s products were rooted in the Italian kitchen tradition—tools for making the foods that Italian immigrant families brought with them to America. Pizzelle irons, pasta makers, and food strainers were the core of the product line, each one designed to replicate in an Ohio factory the hand-crafted tools that Italian households had used for generations.
The company eventually established its manufacturing base in Willoughby, Ohio, a city in Lake County on the eastern edge of the Cleveland metropolitan area. Three generations of the Vitantonio family ran the business: Angelo founded it, his descendants Estro and Genio Vitantonio served as officers when the company was formally incorporated in 1956, and Angelo’s great-grandson Louis Vitantonio was the sole owner when the company was sold to Kadee Products Ltd. in 1995. A cousin, Robert Vitantonio, operated a separate Cleveland-based company called Villaware. The family’s name became synonymous with Italian-heritage kitchen tools in America.
The Pizzelle Iron: Italian Tradition in Ohio Cast Iron
A pizzelle iron is a specialized baking tool consisting of two hinged plates, each bearing an ornate pattern cast or engraved into the cooking surface. Thin batter—typically made from eggs, sugar, butter, flour, and anise or vanilla flavoring—is placed on one plate, the iron is closed, and heat is applied. The batter spreads to fill the pattern cavities and bakes into a thin, crisp cookie bearing the design of both plates. The result is a waffle-like cookie that is decorative enough to serve at formal celebrations and simple enough to make at home in large batches.
Vitantonio’s stovetop models like this No. 5 represent the original technology—the iron is held directly over a gas flame or placed on a stove eye, with the cook flipping the iron periodically to bake both sides evenly. The long steel rod handle with its wooden grip keeps the cook’s hand safely away from the heat. Later, Vitantonio transitioned to electric models—the Pizzelle Chef and the iconic Pizzelle Maid—which automated the heating process but used the same decorative patterns. The stovetop cast iron models are the older and more collectible form, representing the direct link between Italian hand-forged irons and American factory production.
SSC Collection Context
The Vitantonio No. 5 pizzelle iron adds Lake County to the SSC’s geographic coverage and introduces Italian-American immigrant heritage into the collection’s narrative for the first time. Ohio’s cast iron story is predominantly a story of German, English, and Scots-Irish foundry traditions—the makers who built the stove and cookware industries in Sidney, Erie, Piqua, and Columbus. Vitantonio represents a different thread: an Italian immigrant family that brought a specific culinary tradition to Ohio and built a manufacturing company around it. The cast iron is the same. The cultural heritage is different. And the SSC’s mandate—Ohio provenance—embraces both.
This piece also extends the collection’s documentation of cast iron bakeware and specialty tools, joining the Ober trivet, the Prase clothes iron, and the Adamson vulcanizer in demonstrating that Ohio’s cast iron heritage encompasses far more than skillets and dutch ovens. A pizzelle iron is a baking tool, a cultural artifact, and a piece of decorative folk art—all cast in iron by an Ohio manufacturer and marked with an Ohio city’s name.
The stars on the exterior tell you it’s Vitantonio. The patterns on the interior tell you it’s Italian. The marking tells you it’s Ohio. And the iron holds all three truths together.
Vitantonio Manufacturing Company — Company Timeline
1906
Angelo Vitantonio, an Italian immigrant, founds the Vitantonio Manufacturing Company in the Cleveland, Ohio area. The company begins producing cast iron kitchen tools rooted in Italian culinary tradition, including stovetop pizzelle irons.
Early 1900s
The company establishes operations in Willoughby, Ohio, a small city in Lake County about 20 miles northeast of Cleveland. Willoughby’s proximity to Cleveland’s industrial infrastructure and its Italian-American community makes it an ideal base for the growing business.
1956
Vitantonio Mfg. Co. is formally incorporated in the state of Ohio. Officers include Estro Vitantonio and Genio Vitantonio, continuing the family’s multi-generational involvement in the business.
Mid-20th Century
Vitantonio produces a line of stovetop cast iron pizzelle irons, including this No. 5 model, for use over gas flames and stove burners. The company also manufactures pasta makers, food strainers (under the Victorio brand), waffle irons, and other Italian-heritage kitchen tools.
1960s–1970s
Vitantonio transitions to electric appliances, introducing the Pizzelle Chef and later the Pizzelle Maid (Model 400-NS), which become iconic American kitchen appliances. The company’s products are featured in upscale catalogs including Williams-Sonoma.
1978
The company relocates to Eastlake, Ohio (also in Lake County), where it continues manufacturing.
1995
Kadee Products Ltd. acquires Vitantonio Manufacturing Company. Louis Vitantonio—great-grandson of founder Angelo—remains as president. The company’s product line includes waffle irons, pizzelle makers, pasta makers, food strainers, espresso accessories, and licensed Disney character waffle irons.
2025
Steve’s Seasoned Classics acquires this Vitantonio No. 5 stovetop pizzelle iron from eBay seller ctryf26. The piece is documented as SSC-VITA-PIZ-5-001.
Why This Piece Matters
A Vitantonio No. 5 pizzelle iron is a piece of Italian-American cultural history cast in Ohio iron. It documents the moment when a centuries-old Italian baking tradition met American industrial manufacturing—when a hand-forged iron became a factory product, and when an immigrant family’s kitchen tool became a nationally distributed household item. Angelo Vitantonio brought the tradition. Ohio provided the foundry. And three generations of the Vitantonio family built a company that put Willoughby, Ohio on kitchen shelves across America.
For the SSC, this pizzelle iron broadens the collection’s cultural scope beyond the predominantly Anglo-German foundry tradition that defines most of Ohio’s cast iron heritage. It proves that the SSC’s Ohio provenance criterion captures more than one story—it captures every story that left its mark in Ohio iron. The patterns are Italian. The stars are Vitantonio. The city is Willoughby. And the iron, as always, endures.
Sources & Further Reading
The Free Library — “Vitantonio Acquired; New Owner Plans Product Expansion” (thefreelibrary.com): 1995 trade press article documenting the sale of Vitantonio Mfg. Co. to Kadee Products Ltd., including founding date (1906 by Angelo Vitantonio) and family history through great-grandson Louis Vitantonio.
Vitantonio Products — About Us (vitantonioproducts.com): company overview referencing origins in factories in Italy and Ohio and three generations of family involvement.
OpenCorporates — Vitantonio Mfg. Co. (opencorporates.com): Ohio incorporation records showing 1956 articles of incorporation with officers Estro Vitantonio and Genio Vitantonio; registered address in Eastlake, Lake County, Ohio.
Google Groups — rec.food.equipment Vitantonio discussion: consumer and collector commentary on Vitantonio product history, model numbers, and company contact information across decades of production.
eBay listing and invoice documentation — Item 205836486316, Order 04-13903-99089.
About Steve’s Seasoned Classics
Steve’s Seasoned Classics is an online museum dedicated to preserving and documenting the heritage of American cast iron, with a focus on Ohio foundry pieces from the 19th and early 20th centuries. The SSC collection features over 130 pieces with detailed provenance, historical research, and photography for each item.
