Cagiva Motorcycles

Cagiva was founded in 1950 by Giovanni Castiglioni in Varese, Italy, originally making small metal components; his sons Claudio and Gianfranco moved the family business into motorcycles in 1978 by buying the former Aermacchi factory from AMF Harley-Davidson. The name is an acronym of the founder's own identity - CAstiglioni GIovanni VArese. Through the 1980s and early 1990s the Castiglioni brothers built an aggressive multi-brand group, buying the bankrupt Ducati in 1983, adding Moto Morini in 1985, Husqvarna's motorcycle division in 1987, and finally MV Agusta in 1992, at one point controlling five storied Italian and Swedish marques under one holding company. The spending eventually outpaced the business: Husqvarna was sold to BMW in 2000, and motorcycle production under the Cagiva name itself ended in 2012. Cagiva's lasting legacy is less its own machines than the fact that its acquisitions kept Ducati and MV Agusta alive long enough to be revived by later owners.