Good Things From Italy - Le Cose Buone d'Italia

Benelli was established in Pesaro Italy in 1911 making it the oldest of all European motorcycle manufacturers still operational today.
Teresa Benelli, a widow, invested all of the family capital into the business hoping it would offer stable work for her six sons: Giuseppe, Giovanni, Francesco, Filippo, Domenico and Antonio. She also sent Giuseppe and Giovanni to study engineering in Switzerland.
In the beginning, it was just the ‘Benelli Garage’, which repaired cars and motorcycles and was already able to produce all of the spare parts needed for repairs.
It was in 1920 when Benelli built its first complete engine in-house, a single-cylinder two-stroke 75cc model, immediately adapted to a bicycle frame. Two years later using a version specially designed for competitions, the youngest brother Antonio (‘Tonino’) Benelli made his racing debut.
During the Second World War the Benelli factory was completely destroyed and looted. But the Benelli brothers never lost their passion for motorcycles and Benelli was resurrected from the ashes of the factory. In 1939 Ted Mellors won the Tourist Trophy, riding a Benelli motorcycle.

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