If you want to get to know a small town and visit an original museum, mark this address: the Piaggio Museum is a journey through time in our history.
Pontedera means Piaggio and Piaggio means Vespa. Simplifications? Maybe, but the Tuscan city in the province of Pisa is so tied to the motorcycle manufacturer that it has dedicated a museum to its production, famous all over the world. In the post, I will therefore tell you why visit the Piaggio Museum of Pontedera.
Piaggio Pontedera Museum, what to expect
It is certainly worthwhile, on a tour of Tuscany, to include a stop here. Mind you, Pontedera itself is not among the most attractive tourist destinations, however it reserves surprises (as often happens in Italy). The biggest surprise is this museum, created in 2000, which pays homage to Italian design and industrial production.
The Piaggio Museum is located near the production area, a huge industrial district in the town. From these warehouses, now destined for other uses, the vehicles that Piaggio produced starting from the 20s started: trains, airplanes, two-wheeled vehicles.
The Vespa: a need for modernity
It is no coincidence that the first thing that welcomes us at the entrance is a railway carriage. But brilliant insights like the Vespa production were the strengths in the history of this company, as it is told in the documents kept in thehistorical archives, which is part of the museum itinerary. Documents that tell of studies, projects, a flair for understanding the needs of a country that, especially after the war, had an urgent need to modernize and speed up.
In fact, if Piaggio was created by Rinaldo Piaggio in Sestri Levante, the company was subsequently divided between the three sons and it was Enrico Piaggio who managed the Tuscan plant, flanked by Corradino d'Ascanio, a key figure in the design and creation of new models. All this can be learned by consulting the documents of the Archive, which are truly of great interest.
The story of a symbol
But let's go back to the Museum: there is a large room for temporary exhibitions of art linked to Piaggio themes: inventiveness, speed, modernity. Currently the exhibition is dedicated to Leonardo da Vinci, as it is the five hundredth anniversary of his death.
But the "core business" is made up of two wheels, from the very first rare models of scooters to prototypes from the 40s. In all 250 pieces on display, from the first Vespa (which was not yet called that) designed by Corradino d'Ascanio in 1945, to the famous 125 on which Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck toured the capital in Vacanze romane. Models of the Vespa 50 (the fifty that gave freedom to so many teenagers) or the 125 Primavera are on display, just to name a few of the most popular models.
Advertising
The walls of the museum are adorned with posters advertising Piaggio products: a journey into Italian graphics and communication. Do you remember (I do, it's a question of age) "Who Wasp eats apples?". Among the vehicles hosted there is also the multifaceted Ape, exploited in incredible variations as a Lilliputian van.
The collection also includes artistic pieces: the Vespa Dalì, very precious because it was signed by the surrealist master; colorful and unusual also the Ape decorated like a Sicilian cart.
For bike enthusiasts there are examples of the Gilera, Moto Guzzi and Aprilia collections, brands that are now part of the group.
In short, the visit of this unusual museum is also a time travel and in the history of each of us.
A ride to Pontedera
In the historic center of Pontedera I also point out the headquarters of the PALP (Palazzo Pretorio) where very refined art exhibitions are held. It is currently underway Arcadia and Apocalypse, a photographic and installation exhibition on the various Italian landscapes palp-pontedera.it
How do you reach the city? On the Florence Pisa railway line; or from Florence taking the SGC Firenze-Pisa-Livorno.
The Piaggio Museum is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 10 to 18; it is also open on the second and fourth Sunday of the month 10 am-18pm; Free admission.
