"For almost forty years, Fabio Taglioni has been the inspiring and propelling force behind the extraordinary success of Ducati motorcycles on circuits and roads throughout the world. His artful mind and his vision focused on design, together with a rare talent for knowing how to put innovative ideas to good use, have created a series of ingenious motors which have made Ducati one of the most charismatic and fascinating motorcycles in the world (…). The rapid success of the models created by Taglioni for Ducati throughout the years has made him one of the great inventors of our time".

Mick Walker, Ducati. Taglioni and his world-beating motorcycles.

The effects that the genius and creativity of Fabio Taglioni have produced on the development and growth of Ducati remain without equal to this day.
And the consequences are truly sensational.
In fact, when he first arrived, Ducati was a company that built low-powered motorcycles made above all for a market, like the Italian one, which was slowly attempting to recover from the disastrous post-war condition. When he left, Ducati was a name known throughout the world as the sports and hypersports motorcycle par excellence. Not only were the motorcycles designed by Taglioni technically state-of-the-art, but they also possessed a charisma and appeal which are still unmatchable. During a forty-year long career in Ducati, Taglioni designed more than 1,000 engines, all quite different from each other: from low-powered engines featured on light motorcycles and scooters, to the super-powerful twin-cylinders of the Superbike championships.

It was Mr. Giuseppe Montano, General Manager of Ducati, who believed in young Fabio Taglioni and wanted him in the company. The year was 1954.

In 1953, it was decided that within Ducati there should be two distinct and separate production and organization structures: Ducati Meccanica and Ducati Elettrotecnica. The first was to be dedicated to the construction of motorcycles and the production of sea and diesel motors; while the second was to handle only the radio-electric department.
The management of Ducati Meccanica was put into the hands of Mr. Montano, and it was thanks to him that the company seriously began considering the possibility of taking part in two-wheeled sports competitions.
Montano's idea was that success in sports, inevitably tied to strong research and development program, would also benefit line production and create massive brand appeal. Montano knew that to obtain good results in the field of sports a new designer would be necessary, someone who's job it would be to realize the new path: that person was Fabio Taglioni, recruited directly from rival Mondial.

Edvige Pippolini

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Fabio Taglioni at his working table.