Museo Ducati

The Ducati Museum traces the company's engineering history from radio components to motorcycles. It is located within the Borgo Panigale complex associated with Ducati's manufacturing history.

Why it matters

The Ducati Museum occupies the company's Borgo Panigale complex in Bologna. Its subject is one of Italian industry's distinctive arcs: a firm founded in 1926 to make radio components that became, after the Second World War, a maker of racing motorcycles.

What to notice

The collection covers the Società Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati, founded by Antonio Cavalieri Ducati, and the varied products of the early decades, including capacitors, electric shavers and cameras. Road-bike collections document successive eras, while the competition section includes racing machines, trophies and riders' race suits.

Context and history

Antonio Cavalieri Ducati founded the company in Bologna in 1926, and the Borgo Panigale plant itself dates to the mid-1930s. The museum's narrative runs from those radio-era beginnings through the company's first two decades to the motorcycle business that rebuilt the factory's reputation after the war. More than ninety years of history are distilled into themed sections covering the company's defining moments, its origins, its road motorcycles and its racing record. The museum's setting connects its collection with the company's history in Borgo Panigale.