The early 1900s brought real fervour to the electronics sector in Bologna. Guglielmo Marconi was receiving worldwide praise for the invention of radiotelegraphy. And so it was that Ducati embarked on its epic journey with the radio. Adriano Cavalieri Ducati patented a short-wave transmitter with which he managed to connect with the United States. Together with brothers Bruno and Marcello, Adriano founded the Società Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati on 4 July 1926. The company produced the small Manens capacitor, assembled in a private residence with two workers and a secretary.

The success was staggering, and within ten years Ducati was providing thousands of people with work and had opened a large factory in Borgo Panigale. During the war, however, the factory became a target in the Allied bombings and was destroyed on 12 October 1944. From the rubble, the company was built back up as a motorcycle manufacturing firm, marking the start of a new era for Ducati.

Italy was reborn during the years of post-war reconstruction. The economic boom spanned all industries and brought unprecedented production expansion and technological development. Higher employment and wages stimulated new consumer spending. The lifestyles and habits of Italians changed, and the need for mobility was one of the first to be met by this growing affluence.

In the immediate post-war period, micro-engines that could be fitted to any bicycle were perfect for providing emergency mobility. The Ducati Cucciolo became a social phenomenon, reuniting a nation that needed to get around.

With the onset of mass motorisation in the 50s, Italians used lightweight motorcycles and scooters to get to work or travel on holiday. But the success of motorcycle street racing inspired a desire for speed, rather than just a cheap and reliable means of transportation.

The 60s brought a brightly coloured new age. From technological progress, with the space race and the development of computers, to an explosion of creativity, with rock music, New Hollywood films, and Pop Art. A time of new freedoms, transgressions and the fight for ideals.

Cars became widespread, removing the motorcycle’s social role as a method of transportation. The influence of American bikers saw the motorcycle become a means of expression for the young generations: a travel companion for an on the road lifestyle.

With the advent of high-powered engines in the 70s, the recreational function of a motorcycle as a piece of sports equipment came to the fore, and only grew with the success of supersport bikes in the 80s. In the collective imagination, the motorcycle came to be associated with fun and freedom, just as it still is today.

The 90s signalled the end of political ideologies and rapid technological acceleration in the IT and mobile phone industries. The age of internet and globalisation, but also of a post-consumerism society in which goods no longer simply satisfied needs but contributed to shaping the identity of those buying them.

These emotional and symbolic aspects also emerged in the two-wheeled world, at the expense of mass production and homologation. The motorcycle was increasingly becoming a premium product, charged with passion, to be enjoyed during one’s leisure time. It was identity-making, a status symbol.

Hence, the explosion of sophisticated technologies, style and design, cornerstones of the Made in Italy. Art met the motorcycle, giving live to immortal icons such as the Monster and the Ducati 916.

In today’s increasingly interconnected world, changes come thick and fast. The technology of mobile devices mirrors a reality in continuous motion and communication on social networks reflects our ever-evolving relationships.

The desire to express one’s identity and create a sense of community has returned. Even travelling by motorcycle has become an experience to share, a way to relate to one’s group. And from here stem bike meets, such as World Ducati Week, and phenomena like the success of the Scrambler, with its expressive strength. Advanced electronics, the pursuit of safety, heightened comfort and an increase in performance have made the motorcycle technologically advanced and interactive. But there is still a passion for that authentic, inimitable and adrenaline-fueled experience: like a red bike with which to dart along the world’s roads and racetracks.