Piaggio Aerospace has signed a five-year agreement with Italy’s Ministry of Culture this month to help preserve the company’s historical archive material. Inked in Rome with the General Directorate of Archives, the agreement will support the preservation and digitalization of content, as well as promote the archive to the public.
Piaggio has also pledged to contribute to the preservation and accessibility of its “historic collection” through the creation of a permanent museum. This will be situated at its company headquarters in Villanova d’Albenga in northern Italy, and complemented by additional exhibitions across the country.
Piaggio traces its roots back to 1884, when Rinaldo Piaggio founded a company to furnish the interiors of luxury cruise ships. After expanding into train and boat production, it started aeronautical activities in 1917 by building aircraft under license. The first Piaggio-designed aircraft, the P.1, first flew in 1922.
Items in the century-spanning collection include archived drawings and wooden aircraft models. These were used for aerodynamic research in a wind tunnel, the first of its kind in Italy, constructed in 1935. Piaggio’s iconic P.180 Avanti, still in production in its latest iteration, first flew in 1986.
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