Foundation
The Piaggio Museum was inaugurated in March 2000 in the tooling department of the ancient factory, one of the oldest and most evocative units of the Pontedera factory complex, where the company transferred its production in the early ‘20s. The Museum was created to preserve and highlight the value and the historic legacy of one of the oldest Italian companies and focuses on the reconstruction of Piaggio activities in the area; exhibiting the most representative and famous products and giving access to the rich documentation of the Piaggio Historical Archive, the museum traces a long period of Italian history, a history made of economic transformations, alongside industrial and social development.
Entirely renovated in 2018, with over 20 years of activity and almost 800.000 visitors, the Piaggio Museum has a surface area of 5.000 m², with more than 350 pieces exhibited. It has become today the largest and most comprehensive Italian museum dedicated to two wheels, including many unique examples that do not just tell of the history of the Piaggio Group and its brands, but also trace the history of a country's mobility and industrial and social development, since the Piaggio story spans the entire history of transport: ships, trains, aeroplanes, cars, scooters and motorcycles have been born out of the parent company and its brands. As such, the Museum is the only one in Italy able to trace the history of a such a highly technological and innovative industry, the evolution of which has marked the history of Italy and Europe.
The Museum halls contain fundamental testaments to Piaggio pre-war aeronautical and rail production, the rich and admired Vespa collection, the Piaggio three and four wheels collection (Ape, Porter, mopeds) and numerous pieces belonging to the motorcycle and sport history of the Group brands: Aprilia, Gilera and Moto Guzzi, which all together boast the brilliant result of 104 world titles in various competitions, from Supermoto to MotoGP, from Trial to SBK.
Alongside the exhibition space dedicated to permanent collections, the Piaggio Museum also dedicates 340 m² to temporary exhibitions, allowing the museum to continuously vary its cultural offer, spanning fields from art to technology, and from scientific disclosure to fashion. Over the years, these spaces have hosted exhibitions, events and works by extraordinary artists such as Dalì, Picasso and, among the Italians, Burri, Nomellini, Viani, Pellizza da Volpedo, Fattori, Modigliani, Carrà, Signorini, Soffici, Spreafico, Nespolo and other major players in the world of modern and contemporary art.
In 2003, the Piaggio Museum and the Historic Archive were awarded Best Museum and Best Business Archive in Italy, during the 2003 Business and Culture Prize-giving.
The Piaggio Foundation
The Piaggio Museum is a Corporate Museum managed by the homonymous Foundation. The Piaggio Foundation was founded in 1994, to conduct activities that foster a virtuous association between enterprise and culture, by developing important synergies with the community and areas of excellence in the arts and culture, science, technology, production and tourism.
Partners of the Foundation are Piaggio & C. S.p.A. and the municipality of Pontedera.
Opening hours
All visits to the Piaggio Museum MUST BE BOOKED IN ADVANCE ONLINE. The visit is free of charge. In August the guided tour is not available.
Visiting hours are as follows:
From Tuesday to Saturday, the second and the fourth Sunday of each month the museum opening hours are 9,30-18,00 with the following entrance slots: 9,30/11,30/ 14,00/16,00
On Mondays the Museum is closed to visitors.
Any extraordinary opening is communicated on the museum website homepage.
Services
The museum offers access to a number of services, among which:
- Tours of the permanent collections organised in the three exhibition halls: Vespa hall, Piaggio hall and Motorcycle hall.
- A 180 seat auditorium used to host conventions, presentations and events, and which may also be booked for corporate and private events by writing to the email address museo@museopiaggio.it.
- An exhibition area for temporary exhibitions, which includes a hall with immersive image/video projection capability.
- The Piaggio Historical archive which may be accessed for reference, subject to reservation, with over 120,000 documents, approximately 60,000 technical drawings and a small reading room.
- A bookshop.
- A play area for small children.
- A relaxation area, with books for use by visitors.
- Phone and electronic device charging points.
- The entire museum area offers free WiFi.
Guided tours
Guided tours must be booked and are only bookable by clicking "BOOK YOUR TOUR" from the homepage of the museum website. Tours may be booked in Italian or English and a donation to the museum of €5 per person is suggested. Children under 6 and persons with disabilities and their accompanying support persons may visit the museum free of charge. Unguided tours only may be booked in August, as no guided tours are available during this month.
The guided tour lasts 60 minutes and is available for groups no larger than 10 persons. Guided tours will not be held if the minimum number of 5 persons is not met.
Activities for schools
Educational activities (workshops) are held from Tuesday to Friday from 09.30 to 11.30 am.
The complete brochure of services offered may be downloaded from the area of the website dedicated to educational activities, and bookings may be made from the website itself.
Bookings are mandatory for all educational activities and, for organisational reasons, must be made with at least 15 days prior notice. Cancellations must be made no later than a week before the scheduled booking, by calling the phone number 0587 27171.
Guided tours for school groups may be requested by writing to the email address museo@museopiaggio.it.
Accessibility to site
The entire museum area is accessible to disabled persons.
Lockers for bags and personal effects
The museum is equipped with lockable storage lockers.
These lockers may be used free of charge.
Information signage
Closing times and days are posted outside the museum; opening hours, prices and terms of access are also indicated on the welcome page of the website.
All informative texts in the halls of the museum are in Italian and English.
Prohibitions
The following are strictly prohibited within the museum:
- smoking
- food and beverages; any wrappers, cans, bottles or other refuse must be disposed of in the dedicated waste bins outside the visitable areas of the museum before entering.
Photos and videos
Non-professional photos are permitted.
Visitors taking photos are kindly requested to tag any photos posted to social media with references to the museum. There are two vehicles in the exhibition area that are clearly indicated by signs, which visitors may sit in for photographs.
Prior authorisation from the Foundation must be obtained for any professional and/or commercial videos by submitting a formal request. Ask the museum staff for the authorisation request form.
Animals
Dogs of all sizes are welcome. Water bowls for dogs are available on request.
Facilities/utilities
The museum has the following facilities and utilities:
- a baby changing area in the bathroom nearest the entrance, next to the bookshop;
- ramps and lifts;
- safety signage;
- orientation signage;
- free WiFi;
- rest areas;
- adequate lighting and climate control to allow visitors to enjoy the exhibits in comfort and safeguard the exhibits themselves;
- numerous support materials and tools for visitors (explanatory text placards, panels, touchscreen monitors, projected video material);
- virtual museum tour and museo app;
- support for visitors with special needs (available on request).
Customer satisfaction survey
The museum uses a customer satisfaction survey questionnaire formulated by the Region of Tuscany to assess the service quality of the museum itself.
This questionnaire is handed to randomly selected visitors by the bookshop staff.
