1934 Bianchi Freccia d'Oro Turismo 220cc

THE PRECISE DATE SEEMS TO BE UNCLEAR, BUT some time in 1932, and in an act of pure nationalist propaganda, Benito Mussolini was photographed on a motorcycle, and proclaimed 'Primo Motociclista' or 'First Motorcyclist' of Italy. He was awarded membership number one of the 'Mato Club d'Italia', and the motorcycle was given the numberplate '1 Roma' - both in reality just empty gestures considering that thousands of Italian motorcycles had already been designated their registration numbers, and many of their riders were already signed up members of the Moto Club d'Italia by 1932.

The motorcycle used to establish '11 Duce' number one Italian motorcyclist on was a 1931 Bianchi 175 Freeda d'Oro. Bianchi were the old and first masters ofltalian motorcycle manufacturing, its founder, Eduardo Bianchi, having attached an engine to one of his bicycles back in 1897; so by the early 1930s were a well-established company. Frera, another grand Italian manufacturer with a story that went back to 1905, also made fine motorcycles, producing 50,000 units