Ducati Museum

The Ducati Museum, located in the Borgo Panigale district of Bologna, is a true temple of Italian motorcycle history. Inaugurated in 1998, the museum is located inside the Ducati factory and covers an area of about 1000 square meters. This space is not only a celebration of Ducati motorcycles, but also a narration of the company’s history, which dates back to the 1920s. The museum’s exhibition path is organized along three main itineraries: street motorcycles, racing motorcycles, and key moments in Ducati’s history. Each section tells a part of the long and fascinating history of the motorcycle company, which has been able to combine style, performance, and technological innovation in each of its creations. One of the most emblematic pieces in the collection is the “Cucciolo”, Ducati’s first motorized product. Born in 1946, the Cucciolo was a small 48 cc four-stroke engine designed to be mounted on a regular bicycle frame. This simple engine significantly contributed to Italy’s post-war economic recovery, offering an economical and reliable means of transportation. The museum also displays the “Ducati 60”, the company’s first true motorcycle produced in 1949. Equipped with a 60 cc engine and a three-speed gearbox, this motorcycle represented an evolution of the Cucciolo and marked the beginning of Ducati’s production of complete motorcycles. Among the racing motorcycles, the legendary “Gran Sport 125 Marianna” stands out, one of the first competition motorcycles designed by Fabio Taglioni, the engineer who would revolutionize the motorcycle world with the introduction of the desmodromic system. The Marianna is famous not only for its race victories, but also for being the springboard for many technical innovations that still characterize Ducati motorcycles today. One of the most fascinating sections of the museum is dedicated to the racing motorcycles of the 1970s and 1980s, a golden era for Ducati thanks to the successes achieved in international competitions. Among the models on display are the 750 Imola Desmo, with which Paul Smart won the legendary 200 Miglia di Imola in 1972, and the 900 Super Sport, made famous by Mike Hailwood’s victories. The museum is not just a collection of historic motorcycles, but also a place where the stories of the people who made Ducati great are told. Among these, the story of Taglioni stands out, the brilliant engineer from Romagna who devised the desmodromic system, a technology that allows the mechanical control of the engine’s valve opening and closing, without the use of springs. This innovation has given Ducati motorcycles a competitive advantage in terms of performance and reliability, becoming a distinctive feature of the brand. A visit to the museum can be enriched by a tour of the Ducati factory, where visitors can see up close the motorcycle production process and discover how the legendary two-wheelers of Borgo Panigale are born. During the tour, it is possible to observe the various stages of production, from engine assembly to frame painting, to the rigorous quality tests that each motorcycle undergoes before leaving the factory. The museum is also a point of reference for Ducati enthusiasts from around the world, who periodically come together to celebrate their common passion. An example is the World Ducati Week, a biennial event that attracts thousands of fans and motorcyclists from every corner of the globe to participate in races, exhibitions, and social activities related to the Ducati world.