1926 - 1945

Radio Brevetti Ducati rides Marconi's wave

In the early 1900s in Bologna there was great fervour in the electronics sector. Guglielmo Marconi was acclaimed throughout the world for the invention of radiotelegraphy. So Ducati started its epic journey with the radio. Adriano Cavalieri Ducati patented a short-wave transmitter, with which he could connect with the United States. Together with his brothers Bruno and Marcello, on 4 July 1926 they constituted Società Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati. The company produced the small Manens capacitor, assembled in a residence with two workers and a secretary.

The success was staggering: in 10 years Ducati provided work to thousands of workers and inaugurated the big facility in Borgo Panigale. With the war, however, the plant became the target of Allied bombardments, which destroyed it on 12 October 1944. From its rubble would commence the conversion into a motorcycle manufacturer and the new Ducati era.

Characters

The Ducati brothers

The three children of Antonio Cavalieri Ducati, an engineer who became successful towards the end of the XIX century, are the main characters behind the birth of Ducati. The head of the project and site was Bruno Ducati; in turn, Marcello Ducati was head of personnel, while Adriano Ducati was in charge of production and research. READ MORE

Adriano Ducati

In 1924 Adriano Cavalieri Ducati, a brilliant physics student, became famous for his successful attempt to connect Italy and the United States by radio with a short-wave device he himself had fashioned. Driven by the enthusiasm for this successful experiment, on 4 July 1926 the Ducati family founded “Società Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati”. READ MORE

Bruno Cavalieri Ducati

When Adriano, Bruno and Marcello Cavalieri Ducati founded their "Società Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati” in Bologna in July 1926, their aggregate age didn’t even reach fifty years. While Adriano was the technical and scientific mind of the company, Bruno was its Administration and Finance Director. READ MORE  

Guglielmo Marconi

Marconi is universally known as the discoverer of wireless radio transmission. In Livorno, Marconi's mother introduced her son to physics professor Vincenzo Rosa, the man who routed the young Guglielmo to the knowledge of electromagnetic waves, which had just been discovered by Hertz in 1891. READ MORE  

Alberino Cristofori

This is the exciting story of a man who, thanks to the solidarity of Ducati's staff, managed to escape the horrors of the Second World War. READ MORE

Adriano Ducati

In 1924 Adriano Cavalieri Ducati, a brilliant physics student, became famous for his successful attempt to connect Italy and the United States by radio with a short-wave device he himself had fashioned. Driven by the enthusiasm for this successful experiment, on 4 July 1926 the Ducati family founded “Società Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati”. READ MORE

Aldo Farinelli

Aldo Farinelli had a managerial position in Turin at SIATA (a company specialised in sports car production) and it was while at SIATA he was able to show off his inventive and technical skills when he developed and patented the 4-speed engine “Cucciolo”. READ MORE

Gian Luigi Capellino

Gian Luigi Capellino may well be defined as the first frame designer of Ducati. Right after the war the owners of the company bought a project from Turin-based company Siata: Cucciolo is its name. READ MORE

Ducati in the early stages