The city of Milan has finally recognised the Lambretta which was produced there from 1947 until 1971, and on 13 December 2014 a monument to this humble motor-scooter was unveiled.
The Lambretta was an important part of industrial history of Italy, the Innocenti family having a factory on the northern outskirts of Milan since the 1930s, employing thousands of workers over the years.
After World War 2, in 1947 Innocenti began producing Lambretta scooters that were soon exported around the world, as well as licenced for production in other countries such as India, Spain, Brazil and France.
The town of Segrate, adjacent to Lambrate and the Rubattino district where the factory was located is where the new monument has been sited, the installation a Lambretta Series 2 model mounted in the centre of a circular metal frame which apes a display used by Innocenti to launch the 125cc Model D Lambretta at the Milan Motorcycle Show in 1952. Back then, the circular framework rotated thanks to an electric motor, allowing visitors to the show see the wheels and suspension of the scooter working, but today’s monument is, as you may imagine, a static display.
Present at the inauguration was the mayor of Segrate, a group of former Innocenti workers and Vittorio Tessera of Casa Lambretta (arriving on his Model A Lambretta), who not only founded the Lambretta and Scooter Museum in nearby Rodano with the help of the Innocenti family, but was also one of the sponsors of this new monument.
Also at the unveiling were the Lambretta Club of Lombardia, who took a number of photographs and there are plenty more for you to enjoy on their Facebook page too.
Finally, if you want to see the monument for yourself next time you’re in Milan then you’ll find it in the centre of a new roundabout in – none other than – Via Lambretta!