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HISTORY
In 1967 Gualtiero Ancillotti with his sons Alberto and Piero tried some modifications on the first scooters and motorcycles. On Viale delle Cascine in Florence they went out from the Officina of Via Santa Monaca at 6/8 rosso, in the San Frediano district, than crossed the Ponte alla Carraia and went straight on towards the Pavoniere along the Lungarno delle Cascine. On that avenue of the Circuit of the Pavoniere Ancillottis they drove their scooters and their elaborate motorcycles at full throttle in order to test their performance. 0n that long driveway during a hot day they stopped in the shadow of the Medici Pyramid, the ancient ice house built in 1796 by Giuseppe Manetti. On that structure they saw carved in bas-relief a large beetle with open wings that will be chosen by the Ancillotti as a symbol to represent their brand all over the world.
Detailed look on the sandstone entrance to the Pyramid of the Cascine di Firenze alle Pavoniere, the ancient ice house built in 1796. It was a love at first sight between the Ancillotti and the beetle with its wings spread for 200 years. Who would have thought that the Ancillotti family would do to the beetle what today would be called a modern restyling and that they would have made it fly again on their motorcycles all over the world? The most important things are sometimes born by chance and we also like to think that this randomness has brought luck to one of the most famous Italian Motorcycle Houses.
Ernesto Ancillotti, the ancestor of Casa Ancillotti, founded in 1907 ”La Ditta Ancillotti Meccanica” a workshop of mechanical repairs. Ernesto’s son Gualtiero, following his father's footsteps, opened the G. Ancillotti motorcycle construction workshop in 1938. In this image, Gualtiero Ancillotti is posing in front of the door of his workshop. From this small street called “Via Santa Monaca” (which is in the heart of the historic center of Florence, in the business district of San Frediano) the Ancillotti entered in history with their famous elaborations of motorcycles. Among the most famous elaborations made by the Ancillotti team there are the Lambretta Ancillotti 200 c.c. of the Monza record of 1965 and the most famous Lambretta Ancillotti Special 250 c.c. of the two World Records of Elvington in England in 1966 (today it is considered as the Holy Grail of the Lambrettas). The G. Ancillotti workshop was specialized not only in the development of scooters but also in the development of racing motorcycles. It is from here that G. Ancillotti began to design and build its first bike on the basis of a Beta Camoscio 50 c.c.. The company G. Ancillotti shortly was transformed into the Company G. Ancillotti and F. where F. stands for Figli (sons), the sons were Alberto and Piero Ancillotti who in those years were in their early twenties.
A recent photo of the 6/8 Rosso of Santa Monaca street in Florence which for decades had been the undisputed reign of the Ancillotti family, the most famous motorcycle and scooter computers in Tuscany and beyond. Where the G. Ancillotti Motorcycle Mechanics Construction Workshop was built many years ago, today there are the windows of the large supermarket chain Conad. The Mechanical Workshop Elaborations G. Ancillotti specialized in motorbikes closed its doors at the end of the 60s to move permanently to the new industrial plants of Sambuca Val di Pesa in the heart of Chianti a few kilometers from Florence.
An original brochure showing the new Ancillotti industrial plants in Sambuca Val di Pesa in Via delle Gore. It was 1972 when the Ancillotti with the company G. Ancillotti and F., where F. stands for Figli (sons), Alberto and Piero, began their new adventure in the motorcycle sector. In the new factory in Sambuca, equipped with an assembly line, they started the production of enduro bikes, motocross bikes, racing bikes, regular bikes, trial bikes and leisure motorcycles. Shortly after the Company G. Ancillotti and F. thanks to the increase of orders turned into a Capital Company, the Ancillotti S.p.a..
A fascinating image of the mid-70s of the interior of the new Ancillotti industrial plant in Via delle Gore in Sambuca Val di Pesa, note the assembly line of the motorcycles and the production line. The Ancillotti motorbike had become the object of desire for all boys of that time and the yellow color had become the yellow of Ancillotti.
A recent photography of the warehouses of Sambuca Val di Pesa of the Ancillotti S.p.a. where untill 1986 the “Gialle Ancillotti” were produced. From 1968 to 1986, more than 35,000 motorcycles came out from this 1,500 square meter factory. The motorcycle models built by the Ancillotti Motorcycle Company were more than 90: divided between enduro bikes, motocross bikes, competition bikes, regular bikes, trial bikes and leisure motorcycles. L'Ancillotti S.p.a. closed its doors partly because of the period of crisis, partly because of the entry into the Italian and European market of the Japanese, Suzuki, Yamaha and Honda motorcycles.
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