Like pizza and ice cream parlours, the coffee bar is sacred in Italy. But the tradition of going for a cappuccino or an espresso is under threat from a new menace - the coffee machine. Thanks to aggressive marketing by manufacturers, who are practically giving them away free in offices, factories, universities and even train stations, self-service coffee is invading Italy and putting in peril the livelihood of many baristas.

New figures show half a million automatic coffee machines have been installed in the past year in public places, serving an estimated two million 'portions' of coffee. As more Italians become accustomed to the machines, a new language is being learnt. 'I'll have a number 64 or a 32' is replacing time-honoured descriptions of coffee such as con schiuma, macchiato, doppio, tiepido, lungo or corretto.

Read more about the threat that automatic coffee machines pose to the tradition of the Italian coffee bars at http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1593249,00.html.