The Piaggio Museum goes beyond Vespa, is significantly updated and expands in terms of the size and scale of its collections, becoming the largest motorcycle museum in Italy and one of the biggest in Europe.
Roberto Colaninno: “Our history is founded on innovation”
From Saturday, 21 April, the exhibit “FuturPiaggio – 6 Italian lessons on mobility and modern life” opens new spaces to visitors along with the five spectacular permanent collections to tell the story of a century rich with thrills.
Pontedera, 20 April 2018 – Presented to the international press today, the new Piaggio Museum will open to the public beginning 21 April with the exhibit “FuturPiaggio – 6 Italian lessons on mobility and modern life”.
Roberto Colaninno, CEO and MD of the Piaggio Group: “Piaggio has based its history and its success on innovation, on the ability to imagine a future invisible to others, to interpret the needs of the people all over the world, both in western markets and in emerging countries. The Piaggio Group is present with its brands (Piaggio, Vespa, Moto Guzzi, Aprilia, Gilera, Derbi and Ape) in India, in Vietnam, in China and in Indonesia, accompanying the economic and social development of those populations, creating new mobility solutions to make life more and more simple and sustainable, just as it has done in Europe and the United States since the post-war era through to the present. This museum does not simply put splendid vehicles and impressive engineering on display, but it tells many stories make up of extraordinary ingenuity and great courage, emotions, competitions and victories, technological, economic and social transformations. Here we conserve the teachings that have been handed down by our heritage and, at the same time, we continue to write it, pursuing the path of constant innovation, consistently and creatively following the same values that have guided us for more than 130 years”.
After 18 years of activity and a level of success confirmed by its 600,000 visitors, the Piaggio Museum has been completely revamped and it has grown from 3,000 to 5,000 square metres, with more than 250 important pieces on display.
The Piaggio Museum thereby becomes the largest and most complete Italian museum dedicated to motorcycling, home to unique items that tell the story of the Piaggio Group, tracing the history of mobility. Because the historic memory of Piaggio runs through the entire history of transportation: ships, trains, aeroplanes, cars, scooters and motorcycles have been born out of the parent company and its brands.
The increase in exhibition areas is the result of adding two brand new spaces that, as per the original concept of the Museum, have been created by recovering and restoring old and charming industrial sites. The new collections are housed here, one dedicated to the Piaggio and Ape brands and the other to the motorcycling and racing history of the Aprilia, Gilera and Moto Guzzi brands that, together, have accumulated a total of 104 world titles across the various motorcycle specialisms, from the World Grand Prix Motorcycle Championship to Supermoto, from Trials to Superbike.
Beginning from Saturday, 21 April, the exhibit “FuturPiaggio – 6 Italian lessons on mobility and modern life” will open the new spaces to visitors. Thanks to a high-impact exhibition pathway, inspired specifically by futurism and the celebration of motoring, the show immerses the visitor in the spirit of work by Schnapp (Professor of Romance languages and contemporary literature in the Department of Architecture and Design at Harvard) to celebrate the 130th anniversary of the Piaggio Group. The exhibit, which will be open until 10 June, analyses the concept of mobility developed by the Group over the course of its long history, while also looking to the future of the firm that is now Europe’s leading player in the lightweight mobility arena.
Origin: Piaggio Press
