MV MUSEUM

The Italian marque’s glory years are celebrated here – worth a visit if you’re near Milan

Exotic creations and must-see exhibits inside the MV Agusta shrine

The small village of Cascina Costa, between Milan Malpensa Airport and the city of Gallarate, was the home of MV Agusta during the marque’s golden years. That period from 1949 to 1976, during which MV won 273 Grands Prix and 37 manufacturers’ world championships, is commemorated at the Agusta Museum on Via Giovanni Agusta.

Sicilian-born aristocrat Giovanni, an aviation pioneer since 1907, set up an aircraft factory and repair shop at Cascina Costa airfield in 1923. When he died four years later, his widow Giuseppina and eldest son Domenico took over the reins.

Building Bell helicopters under licence in the 1950s would lead to Agusta becoming a leader in the field, but work was scarce in 1945 so the company diversified into road vehicles. Mostly two-wheelers, they were branded Meccanica Verghera (MV) as early production was in Verghera, close to the main factory. Domenico, who assumed his father’s title of Count Agusta, had a passion for racing and spent big. His proud MV Agusta equipe contested world championships from their beginnings in 1949. When rivals Gilera, Mondial and Moto Guzzi quit after 1957, MV dominated with a clean sweep of all four GP capacity classes from 1958 to 1960 with

riders John Surtees, Carlo Ubbiali and Tarquinio Provini. In 1961, falling motorcycle sales in Italy and growing Japanese opposition saw MV abandon the 125cc and 250cc GP classes. After briefly faltering, the Count’s 350cc and 500cc campaigns regained full strength and MV multis howled to 18 more world titles. The champions were Gary Hocking, Mike Hailwood, Giacomo Agostini and Phil Read.

Domenico’s passing in 1971, the rise of 500cc two-strokes and priority given to Agusta’s defence contracts, caused the decline and fall of MV in racing. Agostini took the factory’s last GP win in 1976. The museum, first opened by a senior factory workers’ group in Gallarate in 1977, preserved machines for posterity – but many factory racers were sold off, mostly to New York’s Team Obsolete and local businessman Ubaldo Elli, when the state-supported Gruppo Agusta took over in 1984.

In 2002 the Museum relocated to Cascina Costa, close to the original factory which now produces only helicopters. Run by volunteers of the Agusta Museum Foundation, it has no connection with the present-day owners of the MV Agusta trademark who are based near Varese, 15 miles away.

Well-presented displays capture the spirit of one of racing’s most illustrious teams and show the surprising variety of road bikes produced from 1945 to 1977, few of which reached the UK. Along with engines, there are drawings, trophies, tributes to great riders, a superb collection of old photographs and evocative films on view.

Aviation displays including helicopters share the limited space and some bikes stand too close together to be thoroughly appreciated. MV noises would have completed the atmosphere.

There’s a traditional trattoria nearby and a bar across the street. Before visiting, check the museum opening times at museoagusta.it

ABOVE: Museum displays MV Agusta machines from the ’40s to the ’70s

The prototype MV motorcycle of 1945 beside the 98bhp dohc 500cc four, as ridden to four GP wins by Phil Read and one by Gianfranco Bonera in 1974. The 98cc twostroke’s original model name Vespa (Wasp) had to be dropped as it was registered for Piaggio’s scooter

ABOVE: Race bikes are the stars of the show but many road bikes not brought to the UK are on show

BELOW: Being Italian, of course MV made scooters as well