Piaggio Motorcycles

Piaggio & C. was founded in 1884 by a 20-year-old Rinaldo Piaggio, initially producing naval fittings and furnishings in Sestri Ponente, near Genoa. The company diversified over the following decades into railway carriages and aircraft engines, eventually establishing a plant in Pontedera, Tuscany, that would later prove central to its future. After Rinaldo's death, his sons split the business, with Enrico Piaggio taking charge of the Pontedera operations. Facing a postwar Italy in need of affordable transport, Enrico commissioned aeronautical engineer Corradino D'Ascanio to design a simple, low-cost vehicle, resulting in the Vespa scooter's 1946 launch - a product that transformed Piaggio from an industrial manufacturer into a personal mobility company. Piaggio Group has since grown into one of the world's largest two-wheeler manufacturers, now encompassing Vespa, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, and other marques alongside its own-branded scooter and commercial vehicle lines.