The ILVE name is less well known in the Netherlands than you would expect from a maker that has built range cookers in Italy for more than seventy years. Still, there is a good chance you have already met ILVE's work, because the brand has a long history with the Dutch kitchen market. This is the story of how ILVE started, how it grew, and why it is worth getting to know the brand directly now.
In short
- ILVE's roots go back to 1952 in Campodarsego near Padua, where founders Illotti and Berno built professional cookers for restaurants.
- In 1965 the first range cookers for home use followed; in 1969 the company officially settled in Campodarsego.
- From 1995 until around 2019 ILVE supplied the Majestic range cooker it designed and built exclusively to the Dutch market, under a brand name other than ILVE.
- Since 2019 ILVE sells in the Netherlands again under its own name, with modern induction and gas technology and custom RAL colours.
- XARO is an authorised ILVE dealer with free delivery in the Benelux and a 3D configurator.
Who is ILVE, actually?
ILVE is an Italian maker of range cookers and ovens with roots in Campodarsego, in the province of Padua, in the Veneto - Italy's industrial north-east. Two Italian friends, Mr Illotti and Mr Berno, start there in 1952 building professional cookers for local restaurants, driven by craft and a passion for Italian cooking.
Consumers are so impressed by this professional kit that in 1965 they decide to develop the first range cookers for home use. ILVE itself names 1969 as the year the company officially settled in Campodarsego, with the first maxi built-in oven as the start of half a century of innovation (ILVE). Both dates are correct: one marks the craft that started it all, the other the company as it exists today.
That those two dates sit side by side already says a lot about ILVE: this is a brand built by people who first served restaurants and only later discovered the home kitchen. That professional background still shows in the heavy cast-iron pan supports and brass burners on every model.
In 1975 the Nostalgie series follows - the country range-cooker line that decades later is still one of the brand's most popular series, also at XARO.
ILVE and the Dutch kitchen market
ILVE is not a newcomer to the Dutch market, even if the name feels less familiar to many people. From 1995 ILVE designed and built the Majestic range cooker, which in that period was supplied exclusively for the Netherlands under another brand name that became better known here. That collaboration ran for about twenty-five years, until ILVE decided around 2019 to continue independently in the Netherlands, under the own name the brand has stood for since the 1950s.
So it is no coincidence that ILVE's Italian craft already feels familiar in many Dutch kitchens, even without the name on the cooker. Since then ILVE has built its own name here, with a wider and more current range than in the years when the brand reached the market through another party.
As an authorised ILVE dealer we notice at XARO that customers who discover the brand for the first time are often surprised how much choice there now is in series, colours and technology - more than most people remember from the time ILVE was not yet sold under its own name in the Netherlands.
How ILVE builds its range cookers by hand
Every ILVE range cooker is assembled by hand from AISI 304 stainless steel, cast iron, brass and copper - the same materials used in professional restaurant kitchens, checked down to the smallest detail by specialised staff (ILVE). That is not a marketing line: in a time when much kitchen equipment rolls fully robotically off the line, ILVE deliberately holds on to handwork.
That choice shows in details you only notice when you cook with it every day. Solid brass burners on heavy, continuous cast-iron pan supports give precise flame control and pans that do not wobble. Triple-glazed oven doors keep the outside cool and close softly, which is especially pleasant with children in the house. And on almost every model you choose the finish yourself: nine ILVE base colours or any RAL shade, with fittings in bronze, chrome, copper or brass.
The range is now wider than the classic Majestic cooker of old. Besides the country Nostalgie series with round knobs and cast-iron pan supports, ILVE offers the cleaner Panoramagic line - with a large lit control panel that won the Good Design Award in 2017 - and the modern Pro Line with slim stainless-steel edges for a larger cooking surface.
What changed when ILVE came to the Netherlands itself
Since ILVE sells here again directly, the range cookers are fully adapted to today's kitchen: the gas transition and modern induction. The Majestic cooker now also comes with induction, and new high-efficiency burners were developed for the gas versions - from wok burner to simmer burner and Coup de Feu.
The ovens are programmable via a TFT touchscreen, with clear settings for temperature and functions. Also new: the Colonna Stellata, a vertical cooking column that combines an ultra-combi steam oven, blast chiller and vacuum drawer - sous-vide technology straight from the professional kitchen. For anyone who likes to cook with copper, ILVE also works with a pan brand whose copper pans are matched to ILVE induction zones.
What has not changed is the attention to detail and the largely manual production process. Same factory, same craftspeople - now without another brand name in between.
ILVE series: from country style to clean design
ILVE offers several lines, each for a different kitchen style, so you choose based on the interior rather than the other way around.
Nostalgie is the country classic: round knobs, cast-iron pan supports and optional decorative trims (Noblesse Trims) in bronze, chrome, brass or copper. See for example the ILVE PI096NE3 Nostalgie induction range cooker in matte graphite.
Majestic is the classic-professional line with cast-iron pan supports and a choice of gas, fry-top or coup-de-feu sections.
Panoramagic goes for a clean, designed front with large lit knobs and TFT controls - the award-winning line if you prefer a clearly modern kitchen.
Pro Line is the most contemporary series, with slim stainless-steel edges for a larger usable induction surface, such as the ILVE LBI095WSCM3 Pro Line induction range cooker in stainless steel or matte black.
ILVE range cookers at XARO
Why buy an ILVE range cooker at XARO now
As an authorised ILVE dealer XARO selects models on build quality and everyday use, with free delivery to the door across the Benelux and factory warranty. You order online or after personal advice within 24 hours - useful if you are choosing between an ILVE range cooker (hobs and oven in one freestanding appliance) or a separate ILVE oven for a tall unit.
Unsure about colour and finish? With the official ILVE 3D Configurator, on the ILVE page at XARO, you match every detail to your kitchen: colours, knobs, fittings and cooking functions. You view the result in 3D, download your configuration and email it to XARO for a no-obligation quote within one working day.
In short: the same Italian craft that has stood in Dutch kitchens for decades, you now buy directly from the maker - with the same handmade quality from Veneto, but with more models, colours and modern technology than ever.
Browse the ILVE range - Range cookers, ovens and 3D configurator
To finish
ILVE has built range cookers by hand in Veneto since 1952 and has sold its full collection under its own name in the Netherlands again since 2019. At XARO you find the complete ILVE range: range cookers and ovens, free delivery in the Benelux, personal advice and the option to configure your own model in 3D. Call 035 694 5004 or browse the ILVE range in the shop.