Cockerel of the north
Few countries enjoyed a post-Second World War boom quite like Italy. A generous pot of aid courtesy of the Marshall Plan, the demand for raw materials and manufactured products needed by the US for the Korean War, and the formation of the European Common Market in 1957 fuelled a period of Italian economic growth that would last until the end of the 1960s.
Il miracolo economico (the economic miracle) as it would become known, transformed what had been a poor and largely rural nation into an industrial powerhouse. New industry thrived, huge numbers of workers migrated from the rural south to the industrial cities of the north, and the demand for new housing, infrastructure and transportation came with them.
Enterprising motorcycle manufacturers seized upon the opportunity and developed low cost, low tech machines to help mobilise the eager but still cash-strapped workforce.
Moto Guzzi were no exception and had already enjoyed success in the immediate postwar period with the Guzzino – a purpose-built, 65cc two-stroke, with 26in wheels, sprung forks and swinging-arm rear suspension. Although it was a definite step up from the
