Motorbike Manufacturers - Italy: Books - History (1/2)

A-Z of Italian Motorcycle Manufacturers

Italian motorcycles have a place in history - and many enthusiast's hearts - out of all proportion to the numbers that been built. If the number of motorcycles built by Italian manufacturers is small, the sheer number of Italian motorcycle factories will surprise readers.

"A-Z of Italian Motorcycle Manufacturers" is the most complete directory of Italian motorcycles available today. In addition to covering the most famous Italian factories, this is a definitive guide to the marques that have had little or no coverage. Some might be familiar, while others are remembered for their racing achievements, and many will never had been heard of by most readers.

This new book includes:
- entries for every marque where it was possible to establish when and where the factories were active;
- details of the most important motorcycles each manufacturer built, and the marques' greatest achievements;
- the history of the once great factories
and finally, an appendix lists the other, less well-known manufacturers.

Bologna Postwar Motorcycles / Moto bolognese del dopoguerra

Following the Second World War, Italy was faced with the enormous challenge of reconstructing the nation's social, political and economic fabric. One of the most remarkable success stories was seen in the field of miniature internal combustion engines to be fitted to bicycles or in dedicated frames. Low prices guaranteed their immediate success and Bologna played a full part in the phenomenon: Ducati, for example, launched the Cucciolo, one of the artificers of the "motorization" of the Italian people.
However, there were no less than 49 Bologna-based firms active in that period, in many cases "shooting stars" soon destined to disappear. Among the motorcycle constructors were M.M. and C.M. which had a glorious history, while Moto Morini and F.B-Mondial achieved sporting success in Italy and abroad. Others such as Cimatti, Malaguti, Marzocchi, Testi and Verlicchi began to conquer a significant share of the market. Some of these marques are still successful on the global market today.

This book presents 50 biographies of the Bologna-based manufacturers, with over 300 images, many previously unpublished, as well as a major section entitled "Collecting" with photographs and technical details of all the most important bikes of the time.

Bologna motorcycles of the '20s / Moto bolognesi degli anni '20

Made in collaboration with the Bologna Metropolitan Museum of Industrial Patrimony the book is the first in a series of publications that will trace the history of a dynamic and modern motorcycle industry such as that of the Bologna area in Italy, land of engines par excellence.
This first title on a local two-wheel industry of the Twenties amplifies and delves deeply into the matters examined by an exhibition on the same subject held in the museum in 2004 and which was a public success.

Illustrated with a detailed collection of photographs of motorcycles, engines and other objects made available by private collectors, the book covers the history of the small companies that helped make up the industrial fabric of the area.
Here the collector will find valuable information and pictures of motorbike brands including ABRA, Aquila, Beyer, Diana, Augusta-Fiab, Dall'Oglio, De Togni, G.D., M.B.R., R.A., Villani and others. The bi-lingual text in Italian and English is blended with a wealth of illustrations of both the period concerned and especially commissioned modern studio photographs.

Bologna Motorcycles 1930-45 / Moto bolognesi 1930-1945

This second volume on the history of the Bolognese motorcycle industry has been written and illustrated once more with the collaboration of the Museo del Patrimonio del Comune di Bologna (the Patrimony Museum of the Bologna City Council) to coincide with an exhibition on the subject.

The book documents the difficult moments the companies and small local constructors faced, among them the financial straits of the market and the constraints imposed by the autonomy of those years, with doggedness, vitality and surprising inventiveness.
As well as the production of motorcycles, this is the period in which the more economical means of three-wheel transport imposed themselves on the market.

The motorbikes, three-wheeled vehicles and engines in the Bologna exhibition, which come from private collections, are presented in this book with a detailed series of photographs, while motorcycle history enthusiasts will find invaluable information and rare illustrations relative to the 16 marques, including Augusta, FIAB, CM, DEMM-SCMERA, FB, GD, MM, Moto Morini and others.

The text is bi-lingual, precise and interesting and is published together with a wealth of documentation plus 200 pictures of the period.