Il combustion engine it is one of the greatest inventions of mechanical engineering. Not many people know, however, that this is an entirely Italian idea. Work of the inventors Eugenio Barsanti and Felice Matteucci, it was designed in 1853 and patented in 1854 in Florence, marking a crucial moment in the history of world motoring.
In 2022 a group of Florentine enthusiasts decided to try rebuild the engine as it was conceived by the two inventors, a project that in 2024 gave life to a faithful reproduction of the “Barsanti-Matteucci animated machine” (this is the full name) presented to the public by CMEF (Florentine Vintage Motorcycle Club) together with the ASI (Italian Historic Automotoclub) on 11 January 2025 in Florence.
In this study we retrace the idea and history behind one of the most famous inventions of the modern world, remembering that in 2024 it celebrated its 170 years of “life” from the patent.
An all-Italian story
Barsanti, a Piarist priest, and Matteucci, an engineer, created the project starting from the then revolutionary idea of using the explosion of a gaseous mixture to generate mechanical energy. The device was designed to be safer and more economical than steam power, which was predominant at the time. In 1854, they filed the patent at an international level, with documentation registered at the Accademia dei Georgofili and the Ximenian Observatory in Florence.
Photo at: ASI
The first internal combustion engine in Barsanti-Matteucci history
The operating principle
Il combustion engine designed by the two inventors, it worked compressing a mixture of air and gas inside a cylinder. A sparkthen, triggered the ignition, generating an explosion that pushed the piston. There linear force generated, then, it was transformed into a rotary movement via a connecting rod and crank system: exactly the same process that also occurs today in modern combustion engines.
The “Barsanti-Matteucci animated machine” in particular was designed with great care to achieve a cyclical movement very precise, using components made in the workshops of the Benini Foundry, now Nuova Pignone, in Florence.
The first internal combustion engine in history
Photo at: ASI
The 2022 restoration
In 2022 the Florentine Vintage Motorcycle Club (CMEF) has started a historical reconstruction project of the engine, on the occasion of the 170th anniversary of the invention. The process took one in-depth study of the original patents and correspondence, combined with the use of modern technologies to make the components.
The team, made up of experts and enthusiasts, has dedicated beyond 5,000 hours of work volunteered to faithfully reproduce the machine. In 2024, the prototype was put into operationspinning for 7 minutes at 44 rpm, demonstrating the effectiveness of the original design.
A little curiosity? Despite the historical and technical importance of the engine, Barsanti and Matteucci were forgotten for a long time, with the attribution of the invention instead often being erroneously assigned to Nicholas Ottoinventor of the first internal combustion engine 4 strokesan evolution of the Italian machine with a very different operation.
Photo at: ASI
The first internal combustion engine in Barsanti-Matteucci history
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Source: it.motor1.com
