SPLIT PERSONALITY

Renzo Rivolta was born in Desio, north of Milan in 1908, into a family of respected industrialists whose main business was milled wood products. In 1939 Renzo bought Isothermos, a small company producing refrigerators and heaters, and he moved the business to his family property – which included a magnificent villa on a large estate – in Bresso, near Milan, in 1942. The beautiful mansion still exists as Villa Rivolta.

The post-war boom in scooters did not escape Renzo’s attention, but rather than start from scratch