The Men of the Prancing Horse, an Emblem of Courage and Daring

Some of the motorcycles that Taglioni designed in the late 1950s and early 1960s were decorated with the image of a prancing horse.  Taglioni chose this emblem of courage an daring as a sign of respect and admiration for Francesco Baracca, a heroic World War I fighter pilot that died during an air raid in 1918.

On June 19, 1918, at 6:30 pm, the 91st air squadron, SPAD (Société Pour Aviation et ses Dérives), received the order to attack the enemy positions lined up at the front. SPAD took part in a violent battle in the skies and not everyone made it back to the base. Franceso Baracca was one of the pilots killed in the battle and his body was found on the bank of the Piave River, only after Austrian troops had pulled out.

Fabio Taglioni is linked to Francesco Baracca in more than one way: they were both born in Lugo di Romagna and Taglioni’s father, Biagio, was part of Baracca's air patrol in WWI.  The name and the myth of this legendary hero must have animated Taglioni’s childhood dreams.  Baracca’s heroic achievements and premature death must have instilled in young Fabio a sense of courage and daring that was symbolised by the prancing horse emblem printed on the fuselage of Baracca's plane. Many years later, the memory of Baracca inspired him to use the emblem on some of the greatest Ducatis, like the Desmo 250cc twin cylinder that Mike Hailwood™ rode in 1960 .

Taglioni wasn’t the only one to remember Baracca.  In 1923, the great Enzo Ferrari met Baracca’s parents at a motorcycle race and almost 10 years later, he visited Baracca's birthplace. As the legend goes, during his visit to Lugo, Enzo Ferrari requested and obtained permission from the Baracca family to use their son's personal emblem as the Ferrari symbol. This is how the prancing horse became the symbol of one of the greatest automobile companies of the world.

This small chapter within the series of articles on the life of Fabio Taglioni and his indissoluble bond with Ducati, is a humble tribute to the courage and daring of three men, Baracca, Ferrari and Taglioni, who together earned the Emilia Romagna Region the name “land of motors.”

Edvige Pippolini

6 - to be continued>>>

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Francesco Baracca, the ace of aviation with his personalised airplane and its prancing horse.

The prancing horse emblem on Mike Hailwood™’s Desmo 250cc twin cylinder, 1960.

Ducati 125 GP Desmo, 1956.