The history of Milan on two wheels is flying in the direction of a future in which cars will no longer exist.
The first patent for an object resembling a bicycle dates back to exactly two centuries ago: in 1818 Baron Karl Drais invented with Otto Schillinger the first velocipede, also known as “Dandy Horse” – a kind of mechanic horse which moved on two feet instead of four. The less funny part of this fizzy means of transport must have been its ambulation: equipped with no pedals, the cavalier was supposed to move his iron horse with his own feet. It was clear that a couple of changes were required to make that most elegant means of transport more functional.
Photo by Alice Gemignani
Time passes by, and after some equally uncomfortable experiments, the bicycle is ready to roam the roads of the world – especially Paris. The actual shape of the bicycle was born around 1860, even if the paternity of the license is not clear. Whatever, it’s been two centuries. What we care about is that from that moment on the model of the bicycle has evolved, new materials and gears have been introduced, but the essence remains the same. They may not have been created two centuries ago, but Rossignoli bicycles are the history of Milan on pedals.
Milan is a flat city in the middle of a plane, so its citizens are finally realizing – two centuries late – that using a bike to move across the city is a smart solution. That’s what Rossignoli family has tried to convey to their fellow citizens more or less since 1900, with some particularly hard times from the Sixties to the Eighties, when bicycles were not trendy. Yet, thanks to an exponential growth in bike lanes and bike sharing services, in the past ten years the city has become more and more bike-friendly. Happy times for the Rossignolis, who have never stopped working for a two-wheel revolution.
Photo by Alice Gemignani
Beside renting, repairing and selling bicycles, Rossignoli has taken over and completely restored Filippo Zanazzi’s shop, another historic name in the cycling field, taking the responsibility to promote his tradition, too. Rossignolis clearly know that in order to ride to the future, one must keep his feet grounded in the past: that’s probably the rationale behind the exhibition “Rediscovered Bicycles” that animated Rossignoli’s courtyard for the past ten years during Fuori Salone. No time to stop here, as we keep riding towards a complete victory of bicycles over cars. At least, we hope.
ROSSIGNOLI BICICLETTE
Corso Garibaldi 71, Milano
☎︎ 02 804960
Aperto
Mon 14.30-19.30
Tue-Sat 10:15–13, 14:30–19:30
Metro M2 Lanza
Tram 1, 2, 4, 12, 14 Arena
Bus 43, 94 Largo Treves
Bus 61 Lanza
