Showing posts with label Automobile Industry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Automobile Industry. Show all posts

27 December 2024

Giovanni Battista Pirelli - industrial entrepreneur

Founder of the giant Pirelli tyre company

Giovanni Battista Pirelli began his company with 45 employees
Giovanni Battista Pirelli began
his company with 45 employees
Giovanni Battista Pirelli, who in 1872 founded a business making products in rubber that would in time became the sixth largest tyre producer in the world, was born on this day in 1848 in Varenna, a village on the shore of Lake Como about 85km (53 miles) north of Milan.

Launched in January 1872 as GB Pirelli & Co, the firm initially produced a range of goods involving rubber, which included drive belts and hoses, underwater electrical and telegraph cables, waterproof clothing and footwear.

It began to manufacture tyres, first for bicycles, in around 1890, followed by motor vehicles in 1901. Pirelli & Co SpA was listed on the Borsa Italiana, the Milan-based Italian stock exchange, in 1922. It was the first Italian company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1929.

A fervent supporter of the Risorgimento movement, Giovanni Battista Pirelli fought in The Third War of Italian Independence, signing up with the third regiment of Garibaldi's volunteers while still a student, helping the Kingdom of Italy’s forces defeat the Austrians at the Battle of Monte Suello near Brescia in July 1866.

The eighth of 10 children born to baker Santino Pirelli and housewife Rosa Riva, Giovanni attended schools in Varenna - then itself part of the Austrian Habsburg empire - and Como and he was able to pursue higher education in Milan despite his father dying when he was only eight years old.

The elongated 'P' of the Pirelli logo has been a feature
of the tyre company's advertising since 1906
After studying physics and mathematics at the University of Pavia, he entered the Higher Technical Institute in Milan (later Milan Polytechnic) in 1867. At first he studied civil engineering before opting for industrial engineering in his second year. His marks in acquiring a diploma of industrial engineering were so impressive he was granted one of the two 3,000-lire scholarships established by the Milanese noblewoman Teresa Berra Kramer.

This allowed him to embark on a tour of Europe with the aim of identifying and studying a new industry. His travel plans were often disrupted by the political turmoil in parts of Europe at the time but the tour was a success nonetheless; Pirelli came into contact with some of the foremost protagonists of European industrial development.  His first inclination was to become involved with textiles but after taking advice from his professor, the engineer Giuseppe Colombo, he identified the nascent elastic rubber industry as the one he wanted to pursue.


When he returned to Italy, after Colombo had helped him raise the capital to set up his company, Pirelli appointed Antoine Aimé Goulard, a contact he had made in France who understood the rubber industry, as his technical director, responsible for instructing Pirelli in the technical processes used for manufacturing items in elastic rubber and for training employees.

The first Pirelli factory in Milan opened for the production of rubber products in June, 1873
The first Pirelli factory in Milan opened for the
production of rubber products in June, 1873

The company’s first factory, near Porta Nuova in the northeastern quarter of Milan, began operations in June, 1873, with five office staff and 40 workers in a 1,000sqm plant. The first articles produced were pipes, belts, valves, and gaskets.  It was the first factory in Italy to produce rubber goods and one of the first in Europe.

Built alongside the Sevesetto stream, on more or less the site where the Pirelli Tower skyscraper stands today, the factory grew to employ more than 250 people in less than ten years.

Committed to the future prosperity of Milan, Pirelli became involved with local politics, joining the city council, where he remained from 1877 until 1889. He was concerned with the problems of the neighbourhood where he lived and where the factory was located. As a member of the city's Chamber of Commerce, he gained enough experience to become a driving force in a successful campaign to reform the tariff laws that were holding back the development of the company.  In 1909, King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy appointed Pirelli as a Senator of the Kingdom of Italy.

The company expanded rapidly from the 1880s after Pirelli began the industrial production of electrical conductors and underwater electric cables. Pirelli laid the first submarine telegraph cables in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean on behalf of the Italian government, and was engaged by the Spanish government to lay submarine cables between Spain, the Balearic Islands and Morocco. 

But it was Pirelli’s identifying the potential of tyre manufacturing that was to turn Pirelli & Co into an industrial giant. In 1891 it began the production of bicycle tyres and in 1901 tyres for cars and motorcycles. 

The Pirelli Family tomb in the Monumental Cemetery in Milan
The Pirelli Family tomb in the
Monumental Cemetery in Milan
The company’s foreign expansion began with a subsidiary factory opened in Spain in 1902, shortly before Pirelli’s two sons, Piero and Alberto, joined the business. Factories were built in countries across Europe, in Great Britain, Turkey and the Americas. Eventually the Pirelli businesses at home and abroad employed more than 55,000 people. 

Pirelli adopted the famous elongated ‘P’ in the company logo in 1906, and began his company’s long and successful association with motor sport. The motor car race from Peking to Paris in 1906 was won on Pirelli tyres. Today, Pirelli is the exclusive tyre partner for the FIA Formula One World Championship and for the FIM World Superbike Championship.

More recently, the company was the primary sponsor of Inter-Milan football club between 1995 and 2021 and has sponsored other football teams in Europe and South America. 

Although it is 92 years since Giovanni Battista Pirelli died - he was laid to rest in the Monumental Cemetery of Milan - the company name lives on, albeit since 2015 under Chinese ownership. It employed 31,000 people at 19 facilities in 12 countries with a market capitalisation of $6.69 billion as of May, 2024. 

The Pirelli family tomb at the Monumental Cemetery is marked by a monument, the Edicola Pirelli, designed by the Milan architect Luca Beltrami.

The beautiful waterfront at the Lake Como
village of Varenna, Pirelli's birthplace
Travel tip:

Established by local fishermen in the eighth century, Varenna, where Pirelli was born, is an enchanting village nestled on the eastern shore of Lago di Como in northern Italy, located about 23km (14 miles) along the shore from the town of Lecco just opposite the peninsula of land where the lake divides into its Lago di Como and Lago di Lecco forks. Varenna offers stunning views of the lake and surrounding mountains, while the village is known for the vibrant, pastel-coloured houses that line the waterfront, and the narrow, steep streets leading away from the water. Historic sites include the 11th-century Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista and the beautiful Villa Monastero, which features well tended gardens and a museum. The Passeggiata degli Innamorati (Lovers' Walk) is a romantic lakeside promenade perfect for leisurely strolls.  Varenna hosts cultural events and festivals throughout the year, celebrating Italian traditions and arts.

The Pirelli Tower used to be the tallest building in Italy
The Pirelli Tower used to be
the tallest building in Italy
Travel tip:

In 1950, Alberto Pirelli, who had succeeded his father, Giovanni Battista Pirelli as president and owner of the Pirelli tyre company, commissioned the architect Gio Ponti to build a skyscraper in the area where the corporation's first factory was located in the 19th century. Ponti was assisted in the project by Pier Luigi Nervi and Arturo Danusso. Built between 1956 and 1958, it became a symbol not only of Milan, but also of the economic recovery of Italy after the devastation of World War II. At 127m (417 feet) and with 32 floors, it was initially the tallest building in Italy until the pinnacle of the Mole Antonelliana in Turin was restored in 1961. Characterized by curtain wall façades and tapered sides, it was among the first skyscrapers to abandon the customary block form and was hailed as one of the most elegant tall buildings in the world. In a career that spanned six decades, Ponti completed more than 100 architectural projects around the world, including 46 in Milan, his home city, but the Pirelli Tower is still his most famous. Pirelli sold the building to the Lombardy regional government in 1978. 

Also on this day:

1660: The birth of Saint Veronica Giuliani

1888: The birth of tenor Tito Schipa

1983: Pope John Paul II visits prison to forgive would-be assassin

1985: Terror attack at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport 


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5 September 2024

Renzo Rivolta - engineer

Entrepreneur who invented the ‘bubble car’

Rivolta's Isetta filled a gap in the auto market between motorcycles and scooters and cars
Rivolta's Isetta filled a gap in the auto market
between motorcycles and scooters and cars
Renzo Rivolta, the businessman and engineer behind the ‘bubble car’ phenomenon of the 1950s, was born in Desio, a town in Lombardy about 20km (12 miles) north of Milan, on this day in 1908.

A visionary entrepreneur, Rivolta conceived the three-wheeled vehicle as a crossover between a motorcycle and a car, to bridge the gap in the market between conventional motorcycles and scooters and Italy’s cheapest car, the Fiat Topolino.

Named the Isetta, the car was essentially egg-shaped with just about room for two adults on the one seat. The nose section was also the access door, with a rack attached to the rear to carry a small amount of luggage. Because of its shape and bubble-like windows, it became known as a bubble car.

In the event, it was not particularly successful in Italy, yet it was a hit with buyers in other parts of Europe and in South America, where it was produced under licence.  

In Germany it is remembered as the car that saved BMW.  The company’s decision to invest in the Isetta, sold in Germany as the BMW Isetta 250, enabled a postwar recovery that was in serious doubt with the market in luxury cars slow to pick up.

Renzo Rivolta's business began by manufacturing refrigerators
Renzo Rivolta's business began
by manufacturing refrigerators
The first BMW Isettas rolled off the production line in 1955 and eventually more than 160,000 were sold. Isettas were built under licence in Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Belgium, France and the United Kingdom. Unlike the version produced in England, the German Isetta had four wheels as opposed to three, albeit with the rear two wheels positioned closer together than the front.

The car also sparked a rash of copies, with companies in Europe such as Messerschmitt, Heinkel, Vespa and Renault producing their own microcars. Britain’s roads saw the Peel P50, the Scootacar and the Bond Bug follow the trend, their popularity helped by road tax on three-wheelers being the same as for two-wheeled vehicles. 

Renzo Rivolta’s family in Desio were in the lumbar business. As a young man, as well as studying engineering, he had a passion for cars, motorcycles and speed boats, in all of which he raced. The Monza motor racing circuit was just a few kilometres from the family home.

One of his earliest business ventures, however, involved none of those things but refrigerators. In 1940, he bought a company called Isothermos, which had a factory just outside Genoa making heaters and chillers. When the factory was damaged in a bombing raid in 1942, he moved production to new premises at Bresso, a town now part of greater Milan.

Immediately after the end of the Second World War, Rivolta decided to devote his company to the production of Iso motorcycles and scooters, which buyers saw as an affordable and versatile means of getting around and offered significant commercial profits.

By 1953, he had changed the company’s name to Iso Autoveicoli and launched the Isetta, the success of which ultimately enabled Rivolta to pursue his ambition to produce high-performance sports cars. 

The Iso Grifo fulfilled Renzo Rivolta's dream of moving into the performance car market
The Iso Grifo fulfilled Renzo Rivolta's dream
of moving into the performance car market
In collaboration with renowned designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, engineer Giotto Bizzarrini and coachbuilder Giovanni Bertone, Iso developed the Iso Grifo, a stunning grand tourer, which later led to the creation of the Bizzarini 5300 GT. 

Sadly, Renzo’s time to enjoy the trappings of his success was cut short when he died suddenly in 1966 at the age of 57.

He left a widow, Maria Aurelia Barberi (known as Marion), and two children, Attilia and Pier Attilio (known as Piero). Piero took over the running of the company, overseeing a period which saw the formation of the Iso-Rivolta-Marlboro Formula One team, managed by a young Frank Williams.

The Rivolta family sold the business in 1972, with car production ending two years later. Piero bought back the names Iso and Iso Rivolta, and after an initiative launched by the coachbuilder Zagato, a limited edition of a new sports car, the ISO Rivolta GTZ, was produced in 2019.

After success in a number of business projects, Piero and his family moved to Florida in 1980. In recent years, Pietro has devoted more of his time to writing novels and poetry, publishing eight books.

Renzo Rivolta's home in Bresso was the magnificent  Villa Patellani, seen from Via Giulio Centurelli
Renzo Rivolta's home in Bresso was the magnificent 
Villa Patellani, seen from Via Giulio Centurelli
Travel tip:

Bresso, situated a few kilometres north of the centre of Milan, is a charming suburban town with origins that can be traced back to the Roman era, when it was a small agricultural settlement known as Brissum. It remained a rural community until Milan experienced rapid industrialisation and urbanisation in the 20th century, when it began to attract commuters seeking a more affordable and less crowded lifestyle within easy reach of the city centre. Nonetheless, Bresso has a well preserved historic centre of narrow cobblestone streets, quaint squares, and traditional Lombard architecture.  Its oldest church, the Chiesa dei Santi Nazaro e Celso, dates back to the 15th century, while the modern Madonna della Misericordia, which was built in 1963, is shaped like Noah's ark. In 1939, Renzo Rivolta bought the Villa Patellani, a typical example of 18th-century Lombardy architecture, a reconstruction of a pre-existing 16th-century building. In 1942 it became part of the estate that incorporated the headquarters of his company, Isothermos, later Iso Autoveicoli. Part of the estate is now a community park, while one of the two surviving warehouse buildings now houses the municipality’s Post Office. 

The Basilica dei Santi Siro e Materno in Desio, which was completed in 1744 and later enlarged
The Basilica dei Santi Siro e Materno in Desio,
which was completed in 1744 and later enlarged

Travel tip:

Desio, where Rivolta was born, is a town of just under 21,000 people in the province of Monza and Brianza, which takes its name from the Latin ad decimum, meaning "at the 10th mile," referring to its location 10 Roman miles north of Milan. In 1277, it was the scene of a pivotal battle between the Visconti and della Torre families for the rule of Milan, won decisively by the Visconti, who would dominate the city until the mid-15th century. It is also the birthplace of Achille Ratti, who as Pope Pius XI was head of the Catholic Church between 1922 and 1939 and first sovereign of the independent Vatican City State upon its creation in 1929. His birthplace is now a museum dedicated to his life and legacy. The town is home to several notable churches, including the Basilica dei Santi Siro e Materno, which was consecrated upon its completion in 1744 and reconsecrated in 1895 following its enlargement and the addition of its dome.  

Also on this day: 

1533: The birth of philosopher Giacamo Zabarella

1568: The birth of poet and philosopher Tommaso Campanella

1901: The birth of politician Mario Scelba

1970: The birth of Paralympian Francesca Porcellato


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6 June 2022

Giotto Bizzarrini - auto engineer

Took part in 1961 rebellion that left Ferrari on brink

Giotto Bizzarrini was a key Ferrari engineer
Giotto Bizzarrini was a
key Ferrari engineer
The automobile engineer Giotto Bizzarrini, a key figure in the development of Ferrari’s 1960s sports car, the 250 GTO, was born on this day in 1926 in Quercianella, a seaside village on the coast of Tuscany.

Bizzarrini famously joined with two other key engineers and several more employees in quitting Ferrari in October 1961 after a colleague had been sacked by founder Enzo Ferrari following a row over Ferrari’s wife, Laura, interfering in how the company was run.

Their walk-out left Ferrari effectively with no engineers to further develop on-going projects. The marque was already at a low point following the deaths of five of their main drivers in crashes between 1957 and 1961, one of which, at Monza in 1961, saw 15 spectators also lose their lives.

Enzo Ferrari, who was accused of running his company like a dictator, is said to have considered winding it up after Bizzarrini and the others left. The episode is remembered in Ferrari’s history as ‘the Great Walkout’.

Bizzarrini was born into a wealthy family from Livorno. His father was a landowner and his grandfather, also called Giotto, had worked with Guglielmo Marconi on his development of the wireless telegraph.

After obtaining a degree in engineering from the University of Pisa, in 1954 Bizzarrini began his career in the automobile industry with Alfa Romeo, where he trained to be a test driver. He felt it important to his work as an engineer that he understood from a driver’s point of view the problems he was asked to solve.

The Ferrari 250 GTO, developed by Bizzarrini, is still seen as one of Ferrari's best cars
The Ferrari 250 GTO, developed by Bizzarrini,
is still seen as one of Ferrari's best cars
It was as a test driver that he joined Ferrari in 1957. Promotion came quickly and it was not long before he was the company’s chief engineer. 

Bizzarrini’s most notable achievement at Ferrari was the development of the 250 GTO sports car, which even 60 years after it went into production is still regarded as one of the greatest Ferraris. In response to Enzo Ferrari’s concerns over competition from the Shelby Cobra and Jaguar E-Type Lightweight, Bizzarrini developed a shorter wheelbase than the standard 250 GT to improve its handling, as well as more aerodynamic bodywork.

The 250 GTO was capable of reaching 174 mph, which was unheard of at the time. The car won the GT world championship in its class in 1962, 1963 and 1964.

Despite the governing body of motorsport requiring that a minimum 100 examples of a car to be built in order to compete in GT events, only 39 examples of the 250 GTO were built. Enzo Ferrari created the impression that more cars existed by giving them non-consecutive chassis numbers.

Bizzarrini (right) speaks to the driver after a test run of the prototype 250 GTO in 1961
Bizzarrini (right) speaks to the driver after
a test run of the prototype 250 GTO in 1961
Its scarcity value now is such that in 2018, a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO sold for $70 million dollars at auction, which at the time was a record for any car changing hands at a public auction.

It was Bizzarrini’s success in turning the 250 into a serial winner that made his departure such a serious blow, although in the event the project was completed successfully in his absence. 

The Great Walkout came against a background of rising tensions at Ferrari in which sales manager Girolamo Gardini frequently argued with Enzo Ferrari’s wife, Laura. Matters came to a head when Gardini was joined by Bizzarrini and two other senior staff in demanding that Laura’s involvement with the running of the company. Enzo Ferrari rejected their demands and the four left, along with several other personnel.  It has never been entirely clear whether they resigned, or were sacked.

After Ferrari, Bizzarrini worked for Scuderia Serenissima, the Venice-based racing team run by Count Giovanni Volpi, whose father, Count Giuseppe Volpi, was the founder of the Venice Film Festival, and had a spell with Lamborghini, developing the first of the marque’s successful V12 engines.

His company, Società Autostar, then won a contract with Iso Autoveicoli, building the Iso Rivolta IR 300 and the Iso Grifo. He left Iso after another dispute and began building cars under his own name, starting with the Bizzarrini Grifo Stradale in 1965.

The car evolved into the Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada, which was produced between 1965 and 1968. Bizzarrini ran into financial difficulties and Bizzarrini Spa was declared bankrupt in 1969, after which his career as an automobile manufacturer was over.

As a consultant and university lecturer, however, he remained an influential figure in the industry, working well into his 80s.

A beach on the rocky waterfront at the seaside village of Quercianella
A beach on the rocky waterfront at
the seaside village of Quercianella.

Travel tip:

Quercianella, where Bizzarrini was born, is a small hamlet situated some 15km (nine miles) south of the port of Livorno on the Tuscan coast, from which it is separated by a stretch of rocky coastline known as Il Romito. Surrounded by tall cliffs lined with pine forests. The village is largely residential but has a small public beach and a salt-water swimming pool. The sea off Quercianella has been praised for its cleanliness and is popular with water sports enthusiasts and has abundant fish stocks. The Quercianella coastline was chosen by a former prime minister, Sidney Sonnino, who led two governments in the 1900s, to build the Castello Sonnino, a neo-medieval style castle residence built on the site of a 16th-century fort built by the Medici. 

Livorno's duomo, the Cathedral of St Francis of Assissi, originally built in the 17th century
Livorno's duomo, the Cathedral of St Francis
of Assissi, originally built in the 17th century
Travel tip:

The port of Livorno is the second largest city in Tuscany after Florence, with a population of almost 160,000. Although it is a large, industrialised  commercial port, it has many attractions, including the elegant Terrazza Mascagni, a waterside promenade with checkerboard paving, and its historic centre – the Venetian quarter – which has a network of canals and a tradition of serving excellent seafood. Situated next to Terrazza Mascagni is the Livorno Aquarium, which has 33 exhibition tanks containing around 300 different species. The city’s cathedral, commonly called Duomo di Livorno and dedicated to Francis of Assisi, can be found on the south side of Piazza Grande.

Also on this day:

1513: The Battle of Novara

1772: The birth of Maria Theresa, the last Holy Roman Empress

1861: The death of Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, Italy’s first prime minister


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7 August 2019

Giorgetto Giugiaro - automobile designer

The Volkswagen Golf Mk I was one of  Giugiaro's most successful designs, the car selling 6.8 million units
The Volkswagen Golf Mk I was one of  Giugiaro's most
successful designs, the car selling 6.8 million units

Creative genius behind many of the world’s most popular cars


Giorgetto Giugiaro, who has been described as the most influential automotive designer of the 20th century, was born on this day in 1938 in Garessio, a village in Piedmont about 100km (62 miles) south of Turin.

In a career spanning more than half a century, Giugiaro and his companies have designed around 200 different cars, from the high-end luxury of Aston Martin, Ferrari, Maserati and DeLorean to the mass production models of Fiat, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Daewoo and SEAT.

The Volkswagen Golf and the Fiat Panda, two of the most successful popular cars of all time, were Giugiaro’s concepts.

In 1999, a jury of more than 120 journalists from around the world named Giugiaro “Designer of the Century.”

Giugiaro formed his own company. Italdesign, just outside Turin in 1968
Giugiaro formed his own company.
Italdesign, just outside Turin in 1968
Giugiaro’s father and grandfather both painted in oils and Giugiaro became passionately interested in art. He enrolled at the University of Turin to study art and technical design.

He took an interest in styling automobiles only after one of his professors suggested that the motor industry would pay big money for someone of his artistic vision who could come up with elegant and practical designs.

Not surprisingly, after he had presented some sketches of cars at a student exhibition in Turin in 1955, it was Fiat - based in Turin - who became aware of his talent. The company’s technical director, Dante Giacosa, approached Giugiaro and three months later he joined Fiat’s Special Vehicle Design Study Department. He would stay with Fiat for four years, although he struggled to win approval for his designs.

From Fiat, he moved up the ladder of automotive design very quickly, lured away by Nuccio Bertone to join Gruppo Bertone, where Giugiaro delivered an amazing run of successful designs.

The stylish Alfa Romeo Brera is based on another of Giugiaro's designs for Italdesign Appointed chief designer at the age of just 22, his work included the Aston Martin DB4 GT, the Ferrari 250 GT Concept, Chevrolet Corvair Testudo Concept, Alfa Romeo Sprint, and the Fiat 850 Spider.    Giugiaro moved to Ghia in 1965, shortly before it was taken over by Alejandro de Tomaso, head of De Tomaso. He stayed there only two years, but it was long enough for him to make his mark with the De Tomaso Mangusta and the Maserati Ghibli, both unveiled in 1966.    Only a year later, Giugiaro moved on again, this time to form a partnership with Aldo
The stylish Alfa Romeo Brera is based on another of
Giugiaro's designs for Italdesign
Appointed chief designer at the age of just 22, his work included the Aston Martin DB4 GT, the Ferrari 250 GT Concept, Chevrolet Corvair Testudo Concept, Alfa Romeo Sprint, and the Fiat 850 Spider.

Giugiaro moved to Ghia in 1965, shortly before it was taken over by Alejandro de Tomaso, head of De Tomaso. He stayed there only two years, but it was long enough for him to make his mark with the De Tomaso Mangusta and the Maserati Ghibli, both unveiled in 1966.

Only a year later, Giugiaro moved on again, this time to form a partnership with Aldo Mantovani and a new company, based in Moncalieri, just outside Turin, which would be called Italdesign (later Italdesign Giugiaro.)

Since its founding, Giugiaro’s company has styled an estimated 200 vehicles for clients all over the world.

The Fiat Panda is another massive seller worldwide that began life as a Giorgetto Giugiaro design
The Fiat Panda is another massive seller worldwide
that began life as a Giorgetto Giugiaro design
Among the best known have been the Alfa Romeo Alfasud, Lotus Esprit, Volkswagen Golf and Scirocco, Bugatti EB112, Saab 9000, Subaru SVX, and the DeLorean DMC 12. There are few major motor manufacturers around the world for whom Giugiaro or his company have not worked.

Probably the most successful of all has been the Volkswagen Golf Mark I, which was unveiled for the first time in 1974 and went on to sell 6.8 million units.

Giugiaro’s favoured styles in the early days of Italdesign tended to accentuate curves, as characterised by the DeTomaso Mangusta and the Maserati Ghibli. Later he became more concerned with straight lines, as characterised by the VW designs for the Passat and Scirocco as well as the Golf. Other designers often followed suit. A high-sided taxi he conceived for the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1978 did not enter production but became the influence for a generation of MPVs.

Like the Golf, Giugiaro’s Fiat Panda sold in huge numbers. Conceived to be minimalist, aesthetic and functional, the model continued in production for 32 years with barely an upgrade in that period.

His design talents have not stopped at cars. Giugiaro has also designed cameras for Nikon, firearms for Beretta, and motorcycles for Ducati, and Suzuki.

The castle at Moncalieri, once a royal residence for the Savoys, now houses a Carabinieri training college
The castle at Moncalieri, once a royal residence for the
Savoys, now houses a Carabinieri training college
Travel tip:

Moncalieri, where Giugiaro established the Italdesign company with his partner Aldo Mantovani, has a population of almost 58,000 people. About 8km (5 miles) south of Turin within the city’s metropolitan area, it is notable for its castle, built in the 12th century and enlarged in the 15th century, which became a favourite residence of King Victor Emmanuel II and subsequently his daughter, Maria Clotilde. The castle now houses a prestigious training college for the Carabinieri, Italy’s quasi-military police force.

The village of Garessio sits in a valley in the Ligurian Alps, close to the Langhe wine region
The village of Garessio sits in a valley in the Ligurian Alps,
close to the Langhe wine region
Travel tip:

Garessio, where Giugiaro was born, is located in the Ligurian Alps, on the border between Liguria and Piemonte provinces. In medieval times it was an important staging post for the salt trade and eventually salt brought over the Ligurian Alps from the Mediterrean Sea was re-packed and sold in Garessio for distribution to Northern Europe.  It is close to the Langhe wine region, which produces famous wines such as Barolo and Dolcetto, and is famous for the Aqua San Bernardo mineral water, which is renowned to have healing properties. At the turn of the century, Garessio built its fame as a spa town. It has a well preserved historical town centre.

More reading:

Why Giuseppe 'Nuccio' Bertone is known as the 'godfather of Italian car design'

Dante Giacosa, the engineer behind the iconic Fiat Cinquecento

How 'Pinin' Farina became a giant of the car industry

Also on this day:

1616: The death of architect Vincenzo Scamozzi 

1893: The death of opera composer Alfredo Catalani

1956: The birth of TV presenter Gerry Scotti


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31 March 2019

Dante Giacosa - auto engineer

Dante Giacosa worked for Fiat automobiles for almost half a century
Dante Giacosa worked for Fiat automobiles
for almost half a century

Designer known as ‘the father of the Cinquecento'


The automobile engineer Dante Giacosa, who worked for the Italian car maker Fiat for almost half a century and designed the iconic Fiat 500 - the Cinquecento - in all its incarnations as well as numerous other classic models, died on this day in 1996 at the age of 91.

Giacosa was the lead design engineer for Fiat from 1946 to 1970. As such, he was head of all Fiat car projects during that time and the direction of the company’s output was effectively entirely down to him.

In addition to his success with the Cinquecento, Giacosa’s Fiat 128, launched in 1969, became the template adopted by virtually every other manufacturer in the world for front-wheel drive cars.

His Fiat 124, meanwhile, was exported to the Soviet Union and repackaged as the Zhiguli, known in the West as the Lada, which introduced Soviet society of the 1970s to the then-bourgeois concept of private car ownership.

Born in Rome, where his father was undertaking military service, Giacosa's family roots were in Neive in southern Piedmont. He studied engineering at the Polytechnic University of Turin.

Dante Giacosa, standing between the familiar shape of the Nuovo Cinquecento and the original 'Topolino'
Dante Giacosa, standing between the familiar shape of the
Nuovo Cinquecento and the original 'Topolino'
After completing his compulsory military service he joined Fiat in 1928, at first working on military vehicles and then in the aero engine division. The director of the aero engine division was Tranquillo Zerbi, designer of Grand Prix cars for Fiat, from whom Giacosa learned the basics of car design.

In 1929, Senator Giovanni Agnelli, co-founder of the Fiat company (and grandfather of Gianni), asked his engineers to design an economy car that would sell for 5,000 lire.

There was an emphasis on producing economical small cars in all the industrialised European countries. Giacosa's new 500cc vehicle, originally called the Zero A, appeared for the first time in 1934 and was immediately hailed as a triumph of engineering subtlety.

The vehicle was only just over three metres (10 feet) in length, yet Giacosa had managed to squeeze in a four-cylinder engine and space for two adults and two children. The radiator was squeezed in behind the engine for compactness, which allowed a sharply sloping nose.

Giacosa's Fiat 600 was a bigger version of the Fiat 500 but with space for four adults and some luggage
Giacosa's Fiat 600 was a bigger version of the Fiat 500 but
with space for four adults and some luggage
The whole looked not unlike a clockwork mouse and enthusiastic buyers nicknamed it il Topolino after Mickey Mouse. Nonetheless, with independent suspension, the car out-handled many larger contemporaries.

During the Second World War, Giacosa returned to working on aero engines but also began planning a post-war range of economy cars.

However, in the financial chaos that followed, the Topolino was priced at 720,000 lire when Fiat resumed its production in 1945, a long way from Agnelli’s dream. The best that ordinary Italians could aspire to at the time was a bicycle or, later, perhaps a Vespa or Lambretta scooter.

But the needs of Italians changed with the baby boom of the early 1950s, by which time they had more disposable income. What they wanted was a family car, bigger and more comfortable than the Topolino, and Giacosa met that need by designing the Fiat 600.

Giacosa's Cisitalia D46 racing car, which he designed for the entrepreneur and racing driver Piero Dusio
Giacosa's Cisitalia D46 racing car, which he designed for
the entrepreneur and racing driver Piero Dusio
Although it cost 580,000 lire when it went on sale in 1955, it became more affordable through the new concept of credit payments. Though still compact, the rear-engined car had space for four passengers, while a stretch version went into regular use as a taxi.

However, as the narrow streets of Italian cities became busier, smaller cars such as the old Topolino that could whisk through traffic and park in a small spot, came back into vogue. Giacosa met that need by designing a new Cinquecento - the familiar Nuovo 500 - based on the rear-engined pattern of the 600, with seats for four adults, an open roof and a top speed of 100kph (60mph). It was an immediate hit, selling 3.7 million models before production stopped in 1973.

In addition to his mass production cars for Fiat, Giacosa also worked on behalf of the entrepreneur Piero Dusio and his Consorzio Industriale Sportivo Italia company to design a single-seater racing car cheap known as the Cisitalia D46. The car scored multiple successes in competition, particularly in the hands of drivers as talented as the brilliant Tazio Nuvolari, winner of 24 Grands Prix in the pre-Formula One era.

Fiat's extraordinary motor production plant at Lingotto, a  few kilometres from the centre of Turin
Fiat's extraordinary motor production plant at Lingotto, a
few kilometres from the centre of Turin
Travel tip:

The former Fiat plant in the Lingotto district of Turin was once the largest car factory in the world, built to a linear design by the Futurist architect Giacomo Matte Trucco and featuring a rooftop test track made famous in the Michael Caine movie, The Italian Job. Redesigned by the award-winning contemporary architect Renzo Piano, it now houses concert halls, a theatre, a convention centre, shopping arcades and a hotel, as well as the Automotive Engineering faculty of the Polytechnic University of Turin. The former Mirafiori plant, situated about 3km (2 miles) from the Lingotto facility, is now the Mirafiori Motor Village, where new models from the Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia and Jeep ranges can be test driven on the plant's former test track.

The village of Neive in Piedmont is at the heart of an important wine production area
The village of Neive in Piedmont is at the heart of an
important wine production area
Travel tip:

Neive, from which Giacosa’s family originated, is a large village in the Cuneo province of Piedmont region, about 12km (7 miles) north of the larger town of Alba and 70km (44 miles) southeast of Turin. It is best known as the centre of a wine producing region but more recently has enjoyed a boom in agritourism among visitors wishing to experience a rural Italian village. The centre of the village is the charming narrow Piazza Italia and the most important landmark the 13th century Torre Comunale dell’Orologio, the tallest building in the village. The village is beautifully presented and listed as one of the Borghi Più Belli d’Italia - the most beautiful small towns of Italy. The Baroque Chiesa Di San Pietro is one of the most important churches, with several beautiful art works by artists of the region. The notable wines produced in the area include Barbaresco, Barbera, Dolcetto d’Alba and the sweet dessert white wine Moscato d’Asti.

More reading:

How Fiat boss Gianni Agnelli became more powerful than politicians

Giovanni Agnelli and the 'horseless carriage' that launched Italy's biggest automobile company

How little 'Pinin' Farina became the biggest name in Italian car design

Also on this day:

1425: The birth of Bianca Maria Visconti - Duchess of Milan

1675: The birth of intellectual leader Pope Benedict XIV

1941: The birth of comic book artist Franco Bonvicini

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4 July 2017

Giuseppe ‘Nuccio’ Bertone – car designer

The man behind the classic Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint


Nuccio Bertone (right), pictured with his  father, Giovanni
Nuccio Bertone (right), pictured with his
 father, Giovanni
Automobile designer Giuseppe Bertone, who built car bodies for Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Lamborghini, Ferrari and many other important names in the car industry, was born on this day in 1914 in Turin.

Nicknamed ‘Nuccio’ Bertone, he was regarded as the godfather of Italian car design. His career in the automobile industry spanned six decades.

His father Giovanni was a skilled metalworker who made body parts for cars in a workshop he founded two years before Giuseppe was born.

Giovanni had been born in 1884 into a poor farming family near the town of Mondovi, in southern Piedmont. He had moved to Turin in 1907 and became gripped by the automobile fever that swept the city.

It was under the direction of his son that the company – Carrozzeria Bertone – was transformed after the Second World War into an industrial enterprise, specialising at first in design but later in the manufacture of car bodies on a large scale.

An accountant by qualification, Nuccio joined his father's firm in 1933, although his passion at first was racing cars as a driver. He raced Fiats, OSCAs, Maseratis, and Ferraris.

Through the 1930s, much of the work done by Carrozzeria Bertone was still craft-based and the car bodies finished by hand, but Nuccio understood the need to turn to mass production if the company was to enjoy real success.

Bertone's Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint
Bertone's Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint 
After he took control in the 1950s, his first designs were for the British company M.G., but his big break came in 1954, when he landed a contract to design and build 500 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprints. They were to be given away in a state raffle but generated such interest that, in the end, Bertone built more than 40,000, transforming the company from a small craft organisation into an industrial one.

He went on to produce numerous models for Fiat and Alfa Romeo and for Lamborghini, which were noted for their beautiful design and strong performance.

Bertone’s revolutionary Lamborghini Miura, unveiled at the 1966 Geneva Auto Show, had a centrally placed engine and a shark-like nose that became a common basic feature in many later designs. The Lamborghini Espada and the Countach, and the Fiat X 1/9, were characterised by sleek lines and grills that create an aura of menace. Bertone’s Ferrari Dino 308 GT4 is another sought out by collectors.

In 1971, Bertone received the Italian equivalent of a knighthood for his services to industry. The 1970s and '80s saw the company’s fortunes dip, but it bounced back by creating convertibles from family cars such as the Vauxhall and Opel Astras and Fiat Punto.

Bertone's revolutionary Lamborghini Miura
Bertone's revolutionary Lamborghini Miura
When Volvo launched a special series of limited-production two-door sports cars in the United States in 1991, they not only featured bodies designed and built by Bertone, they also bore his signature on a plaque on the dashboard.

Bertone, an avid sailor and skier, had a penchant for sharp tailoring and sunglasses. He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2006, nine years after his death in Turin at the age of 82.

In the years after his death, Bertone’s company ran into financial difficulties, eventually declaring bankruptcy in 2014. The name lives on after the licence was bought by a Milan company, Bertone Design, that designs trains, including the high-speed Frecciarossa 1000.

The Civic Tower in the centre of Grugliasco
The Civic Tower in the centre of Grugliasco
Travel tip:

Grugliasco, where the Bertone Group was based before its collapse, is a town of some 38,000 residents in the metropolitan area of Turin about 9km (6 miles) west of the centre. The history of the town goes back to the 11th century at least. The centre is dominated by the Civic Tower, originally built to aid the defence of the town, in time it became the bell tower for the adjoining church of San Cassiano.  The town’s patron saint is San Rocco, credited with delivering the population from an outbreak of plague in 1599. In more recent times, the town was victim to a massacre carried out by German soldiers, who killed up to 66 partisans and citizens in April 1945 in retaliation for a partisan attack on a Fascist division the previous day.

Travel tip:

Examples of Bertone’s designs can be viewed in the Centro Stile Bertone museum in Via Roma, Caprie, a small town about 35km (22 miles) west of Turin along Val di Susa, which was established by Nuccio’s widow, Lilli, who rescued most of the Bertone Collection when the Grugliasco plant was sold. It is now protected by the Ministry of Heritage and Culture as part of Italy’s artistic heritage. Viewing is by appointment (Tel: +39 011 9638 322).