Thanks to all of you trail blazers for starting this Fulgor Milano thread! It is very helpful as I, like many others, am feeling tentative about purchasing a less known brand (less known within the North American market). I am seriously considering the 30 inch induction version of FM Sofia. The showroom of the appliance shop I'm dealing with has a 36 Dual Fuel FM on the floor. I have now visited it two times. I have been bouncing between purchasing the FM, Bertazzoni and Miele induction ranges. There is also a dual fuel Bertazzoni on the floor so I've been able to compare the Bert and the FM in terms of visible aspects and 'feel.' The FM is a more solid build with 'soft close' door, and and has two rather than one convection fans. The Bert is also quite solid construction but not as 'heavy duty' as the FM. My hesitation with the Bert is the consistency of the complaints regarding the 'hot air blowing out' and noise issues. There is an exposed vent on the top edge of the Bert oven door that seems to be the 'culprit.' The Bert has no digital indicators from what I understand so one less thing to break down which is good BUT I would like to have a digital read on the oven temp as well as a built in timer. With respect to the Bert, there are also complaints about not being able to properly gauge and/or maintain the oven temp. What I hear thus far is that the FM oven cooking is consistent and even, and that the oven maintains the temperature well. Compared to the Miele - the FM will cost about a quarter to a third less and has fewer bells and whistles (which is preferable to me). There is risk with the FM because it hasn't infiltrated the North American market to the extent of the other two brands so parts will be harder to come by etc if there are issues. Nonetheless, after thinking this through carefully, and reading what others have kindly contributed on this topic thus far, I am leaning towards 'taking the plunge' with the FM too.

@r, I thought I would chime in here to just say that I don’t think you are “obsessing“ at all regarding the use of knobs in this case. One of the most crucial variables in any kind of industrial design is the way we interface or interact with whatever the product is. Most of us utilize capacitive touch controls or infrared type touch controls on a constant basis with everything from iPads, smart phones, as well as any number of house appliances. But I would suggest that your instinct regarding cooktop or rangetop controls makes a lot of sense. Consider the difference in using a wall oven versus a cooktop. Most cooks in the kitchen can get the opportunity to wipe their hands in order to use touch capacitive controls on a wall oven. Of course, the case could be made that turning a simple dial, can be more intuitive, then going through a series of menus to get to where you want to go, since in the end, the mission of the wall oven has not really changed very much since our grandparents time which is essentially to bake the cake or roast the chicken. The reason I suspect that cook tops and range tops, as well as ranges are a particularly good candidate for knobs is due to the fact that the controls are often placed on a horizontal plane. Many people, especially those who are new to induction appliances for example, have learned a hard lesson as the very sensitive touch controls do not always take kindly to steam, water, droplets, and oil or gravy splatters. It is not hard to imagine why this is problematic because if you put any of these liquids on top of your smart phone screen, you would discover that the touch controls that works so beautifully such as the ones I’m using right now on my iPhone to create this post do not take kindly to having these substances on top of them. There are lots of examples of folks who have touch capacitive controls on these horizontal locations where the entire appliance is either shut down or thrown off its game. Of course, the majority of modern products that have knobs do not use the analog/mechanical controls of knobs of the past, but are in fact, “knobs“ that interface with micro control boards behind them. Still, there is an entire field of design that studies user interaction, and I do think that, at least, in some instances, such as with cooktops, knobs actually, do make a lot of sense. One can certainly debate where the best location for those knobs would be to avoid getting splatters on them since Cleaning knobs is not exactly, a fun time for most folks. Some people would assume that installing Touch Sensitive controls in all sorts of consumer products that once used knobs, levers, and buttons, is simply a design trend, and I’m sure there is truth to that. But a little voice inside also suggests to me, that one of the reasons they have moved away from knobs and especially the electromechanical kinds used in the past, is due to the cost of manufacturing. I do not have a data set to support this theory, but if you consider the labour and the bewildering amount of copper wiring that went into something such as a 1950 electric stove, some of which had lots of extra features, you can begin to imagine the cost savings of having a micro “motherboard“ taking the place of all that complex analogue electrical structure. I truly enjoy all of the benefits and possibilities that I have with my smart phone, laptop, iPads, etc. But I do think your instincts for knobs are not without merit, because sometimes, appliance designers attempt to answer questions that no one ever asked. My two. Cents 🤔.

@cerienawasmycreation In the end, 1100$ of savings pushed me towards the Bertazzoni. I took my wife to the only store with both on display and while she spent most of the process in the "yea that's a stove too" mindset in terms of opinion, seeing the FM and Bertazzoni in person made her really favor the bertazzoni. Comparing the two side by side, they are both clearly quality builds by appearance, but the Bertazzoni is definitely a looker. It's counter depth, classical styling, and built with aesthetics in mind. The FM has a very prominent, large, and kind of attention drawing square logo, as well as the digital screen. I'd definitely be happy with it, and it's far from ugly, but the Bertazzoni is just such a step up aesthetically. People say it isn't a cooker, but I cook literally every single night on it and it's a beast. Heats quickly and evenly in the oven, while the gas range is quick, responsive, easy to use, and I've never been happier. Super easy to clean as well. Cast iron griddle accessory (~250$) is great in the center, the soft open/close oven is amazing and the soft slide bearings are helpful. It also came with a drip tray and what looks to be a digital thermometer attachment that I'm not quite sure how to use but haven't felt like figuring out/calling in about. If you do get the griddle accessory, it rests atop the grate; not in place of it. If anyone is looking, I bought from Ed Kellum & Sons, and they were 20% cheaper than anyone else offered. At first when I checked, they said it could be here by end of June when I needed it (ordered in mid-May), but then received an automated update for mid August instead. I called in and my sales rep said he'd check on it. When I asked Capital Distributing if they had a better lead time (because they said come back with any other prices and they'd match), they said they couldn't beat that price and I should definitely stick with them. Luckily, EKS got back and swapped my order with one from a builder lot, since they love sticking these in high end apartments. Had mine about 2 1/2 months with no issues until yesterday, when the temperature dial appears to have inverted. So it rests at the high end of the range and then starts to travel further right as temp increases. That makes it slightly difficult to know where the temp is at, but if you're preheating your oven you still get the beeps letting you know when it works. I need to call in and get that fixed because it seems like an install error. Overall I can't compare it to a mielle or a thermador or a wolf that I haven't used. I can say that I am very satisfied with it and have very few complaints.

I'm sorry to not have experience with ownership. I'm still in the research phase. I was going to go with a BlueStar gas range, but am thinking of switching to induction. So far I've noticed in the reviews that folks aren't particularly happy with the Fulgar Milano induction ranges. When I was looking for a gas range, I was thinking of the Fisher and Paykel, which I saw and liked in the Yale Appliance showroom. Then I started looking into them, and it seems that F&P is absoluetly rife with service horror stories. They also have a terrible replacement part policy. They only stock replacement parts for FOUR YEARS. While this doesn't directly address your induction range, it does speak to the company philosophy. Doesn't seem very customer-oriented to me. I was inclined towards the Bosch, but then reviewers say that the oven fan is very, very loud and not controllable, which sounds like a non-trivial annoyance. The kitchen is a gathering place in my home, and I do bake a fair amount. There are zero bad reviews on Amazon for the Verona induction range, which is my current pick, but it's early days for me at the moment. Sorry you're in a pinch. Sounds stressful.