Casa Lambretta, a long story ... part two - Scooter & Lambretta museum
CASA LAMBRETTA - SCOOTER & LAMBRETTA MUSEUM
Above the head offices of Casa Lambretta we have the Museo Scooter & Lambretta. In a plain building Vittorio has managed to create an exhibition which is unique for the quality and quantity of the scooters on display.
Founded in 2001 in its original location with the support of the city of Rodano, the museum was included in the provincial museum system Milano Citta del Progetto in 2004 and since 2010 it is hosted in its present location.
THE MODELS ON DISPLAY
Around 160 exhibits exemplify document the history of the scooter. The first models were built before the Second World War, whereas the latest exhibits date back to the 70s. Besides the Italian models, Vittorio has also collected scooters produced by manufacturers from England, Germany, Austria, Spain, USA, Russia, France, Japan, Belgium, Czech Republic and Switzerland.
In the first of the five exhibition halls there are about ten Vespas from the V98 models onwards. When moving to the other halls, we pass by three Belmondo scooters from the 40s, probably what inspired Piaggio to design the Paperino.
In the halls 2 and 3 the different scooters are grouped according to year and country of manufacture. The exhibition is just impressive: from perfect restorations, scooters found in a barn and in preserved state, to new vehicles in original condition, here you can just find everything. Among the rarest models we have the Honda Juno K (Honda's first scooter dating back to 1954, the Nibbio, built in Lombardy in 1947, the Bastert monotrace or also the Auto-Fauteuil (the first scooter model dating back to 1908).
THE LAMBRETTA COLLECTION
The heart of the collection is represented by the Lambretta models displayed in the further two halls. From 1947 to 1971 Innocenti built over four million of Lambretta scooters in the nearby factory at Lambrate. If you also add the licensed production from India, Spain, Germany, France, Asia and South America, the Lambretta represents one of the most produced scooters worldwide.
Thanks to his decade long passion Vittorio was able to raise a unique collection of Lambretta scooters: from the first, widely known models A with chassis number 2, to the three wheel FB Lambretta with box casing dating back to 1949, two Lambrettas series 2 with genuine paint for the Olympic games which took place in Rome in 1960, the completely gold -plated TV 175 series 3 for the actress Jane Mansfield, to different Lambrettas painted in yellow and with a four-leaf clover, reserved for the Innocenti family.
The absolute highlight are the prototypes and one-off models which would probably not have survived if Vittorio had not rescued them in time.
VIRTUAL TOURS
http://www.museoscooter.it/#visitavirtuale
HOW TO REACH US
Casa Lambretta is situated in Rodano, in the province of Milan. Not far away from the Linate airport and about 15 minutes from the Centro Studi and the former Innocenti factory in Lambrate.
The city center of Milan is 11km from the museum and Casa Lambretta, therefore easy to reach by car. If you travel by taxi it costs about 30 euros.
Entry to the museum is free of charge.
If you have a long journey, we recommend you to inform the museum by telephone.
OPENING TIMES
Monday-Friday: 9am - 12pm / 2:30 am - 6pm
Saturday-Sunday: upon reservation for groups
WHICH MUSEUMS CAN BE VISITED IN THE NEARBY AREA?
- Alfa Romeo Museum stefano.agazzi@alfaromeo.com www.museoalfaromeo.com
- MUMAC http://www.mumac.it/
- Cartel Museum - info@museokartell.it www.kartell.it
- Zucchi Collection Museum infocollection@zucchicollection.org www.zucchicollection.org
- Spazio Iso Rivolta Via Vittorio Veneto, 66 Bresso (MI)
- Fondazione ADI for il Design Italiano www.fondazioneadi.org
- Fondazione FAAR - Centro Studi CSAR
