...and the "bicicletto": Cycling through Time - Institute and Museum of the History of Science

> >

Fig.8

Fig.9

Fig.10

In 1884 the Turin maker Costantino Vianzone presented the "bicicletto": a bicycle with a wooden frame and rope wheels. One year later, Edoardo Bianchi began industrial-scale production of bicycles. The Italian term "bicicletta" (from the French bicyclette) came into common use in the late 1880s.

.................................

Fig.8 Bicicletto-type bicycle. 1890-1900; Prinetti Stucchi, Milan. Iron. One-piece frame, handlebar with brake rods. The wheels are covered with a "copertura a tallone": a rubber reinforcement applied to the two extremities.

• 1909: First "Giro d'Italia", 2,448.5 km with eight stops, won by the Lombard Luigi Ganna.

• In 1895 the "Unione Velocipedistica Italiana" was founded, which later became today's Italian Touring Club.

• When it first appeared, the Gazzetta dello Sport's subtitle was "The Cyclist - La tripletta" (a three-seated cycle also used in competition.)

< The "bicyclette"

Leonardo's Bicycle? >